Magic Words Used by Good Listeners: Keep the Conversation Going with Just 3 Phrases / Taught by a World-Class Salesperson! Sales Secrets You Can Use Starting Today #14

Most people want others to listen to what they have to say.

This is because there is no one who speaks while wishing that no one would listen to what they are saying.

No one talks while thinking, 'Please, absolutely do not listen to what I am saying!'

Many sales books also contain a lot of content telling you to 'become a good listener.'

I also believe that being a good listener is important when facing clients.

However, I often see many books that don't contain practical methods or content, making me want to ask, 'What exactly is a good listener?'

Even so, it is unreasonable to just be told to become a good listener.

Therefore, I will share some super concrete techniques for becoming a good listener.

There is nothing difficult about it.

You just need to make full use of three words and add questions to them.

As long as you say these, the other person will talk as much as they like.

Let me give you a concrete example.

Client: 'My son has been coming home late lately.'

You: 'Oh.'

If that's all you say, it's admittedly a bit dry.

So, I will also share what to add to eliminate that dryness.

It would be perfect if you could add these three things: your emotions, questions involving numbers, and compliments for the other person.

For example, let's try responding to the client from earlier by incorporating your emotions.

Client: "My son has been coming home late lately."

You: "Oh, that must be worrying." (Your emotion)

Like this, all you need to do is add your own emotions.

The client will likely say, "I know, right?" and start talking more on their own.

After that, just match the flow of the conversation and repeat "Oh," "I see," or "Wow."

If you think that sounds ridiculous, you are probably overthinking what it means to be a good listener.

Let's also look at an example of asking a question involving numbers.

Client: "My son has been coming home late lately."

You: "Wow, that must be worrying (your emotion). By the way, how old is your son? (question with numbers)"

By asking for the child's age, you can obtain information about the other person's family.

I'll also share a version that involves giving a compliment.

Client: "My son has been coming home late lately."

You: "I see, but isn't it good that he has energy? (your emotion). I'm actually a bit envious that he has friends to hang out with (compliment)."

It's something like that.

When people are complimented, they often feel a bit shy and will continue the conversation on their own by saying things like "But..." or "Well..." so you should try it out.

With just this, it is almost impossible for the conversation to stall.

If I may add, to become an even better listener, I will also introduce three things you should not do.

The first is, do not interrupt the conversation while the other person is speaking. [The Conversation Thief]

The second is, do not deny what the other person is saying; basically, agree with them. [The Would-be Critic]

The third point is, to summarize the information you want to know in advance. [The Flustered Person Who Lacks Preparation]

By the way, the method for becoming a good listener that I shared this time is the same technique I used with customers back when I was a host.

Since many people frequently fail by being conversation thieves or acting like critics, let me add a little more explanation.

If you calmly consider whether a customer would actually pay money to listen to someone else (a host) talk, it should be easy to understand.

However, among hosts, there are many who love to talk and love to tell stories.

The same can be said for cabaret clubs; it is a waste of time and money to be forced to listen to a hostess's personal life story after paying for it.

Hosts and hostesses who love to talk often have good looks, so they have many people who listen to them in real life, which leads them to do the same thing in customer service.

Successful hosts and hostesses, even if their looks are just average, are the ones who are good at listening.

As you can already tell, this is the same in sales.

・Third-rate salesperson: Good at talking
・Second-rate salesperson: Good at talking + Good at listening
・First-rate salesperson: Good at talking + Good at listening + one more important skill

As for that one other important skill, it requires a fair amount of explanation on its own, so I will share it next time.

As I have mentioned before, any salesperson usually has more knowledge than the client, so it is natural to be good at talking.

After that, if you follow up with your "Oh," "I see," or "Wow," the other person should naturally keep talking more and more on their own.

Let me give you one more example.

Client: "My salary just won't go up."

You: "I see, it's tough when your salary doesn't go up (your emotion), when was the last time your salary increased? (question about numbers)"

Client: "It's been like this ever since I joined the company."

You: "Oh, by the way, how old were you when you joined the company? (question about numbers)"

It's something like that.

This remains the same whether it is an individual or a corporation.

If you are dealing with a corporate president, you should increase the amount of praise you give.

This is getting a bit long, but I should still provide an example of talking to a corporate president.

Client: "Sales haven't been great lately."

You: "Oh, that's tough (your emotion). By the way, are you running a deficit? (question about numbers)"

Client: "It's not that bad, but it's pretty tight."

You: "Oh, so it's tough for you too, Mr./Ms. [Name] (empathetic emotion). But if the company is still running, doesn't that mean you're still making a decent profit? (question about numbers)"

[Note] Avoid calling them 'President [Name]' or just 'President' ⬇️

There is no end to the examples I could give, but try focusing only on the three things you should be conscious of—'Oh,' 'I see,' and 'Wow'—when talking to clients.

If you find this hard to believe, try it out when talking to friends or colleagues.

The other person should keep talking without the conversation ever stalling.

Hitotarawo

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