Letting the Customer Talk

During a recent roleplaying exercise, the participant playing the salesperson was attempting to sell a product to another participant playing a prospective customer. There was only one problem with how the participant was handling the interaction though—the customer rarely got to speak. And when the customer tried to tell the salesperson what his needs were, he was cut off with a lengthy dissertation of product information and features.

The interesting thing about this particular roleplay was that the salesperson was actually recommending the right product for the customer, but the customer could not see that because:

 He did not have a chance to speak
 He was not being listened to
 He felt that the salesperson did not truly understand his needs because the salesperson resorted to a standard sales pitch about the product instead of a fully customized one.

The main learning point was obvious: in the absence of being listened to and/or understood, customers are much less likely to buy, even when the product is the right fit for them. Customers need to believe that you understand their situation and how the product will help them fulfill a need. It does not matter to the customer if the salesperson has heard this need before—the salesperson has not heard it from THIS customer—and what matters to the customer is an opportunity to talk and share to ensure the salesperson “gets it.” Salespeople need to improve their listening skills and show that they understand what the customer is talking about before earning the right to talk about the product themselves.

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