The Foundation of Everything: Active Listening

I was working with a rep who was struggling with a weak pipeline and struggling to close deals despite having great product knowledge and strong presentation skills. When I listened to their calls, I discovered the problem immediately - they were so focused on what they wanted to say or what product they felt the customer needed, that they weren't truly hearing what their prospects were saying.

Here's what changed everything:

Instead of waiting for their turn to talk, they started asking follow-up questions like:

"Help me understand what you mean by..."
"What would solving this problem mean for your team?"
"Walk me through how this impacts your daily operations"

The result?

1. The sales rep created deeper connections with the prospect because they felt like they were being heard and understood.

2. They discovered more new business opportunities. Their prospects felt the connection which created trust and began to share more about their needs.

3. Their close rate jumped 24% in two months.

Most of us think we're good listeners, but we're actually just waiting for our turn to speak. True active listening means: