Listening Skills for Effective Cold Calling
We listen to acquire information. “...you’ve got to hear this”Human as we all are, often we associate hearing and listening as the same. Since we can hear, we believe we must then be listening. This is one of the false truths we believe that prevents us from reaching a higher level of success when telephone prospecting. Listening effectively requires skill, which like any skill, can be learned and improved upon with practice. By improving our listening skills, we avoid misunderstanding, increase our productivity, as well as enhancing the ability to persuade and negotiate. All are necessary for effective cold calling. Our listening skills could be described as the most important ingredient in effective cold calling and is invaluable in developing rapport. The lack of this skill can be identified as one of the most frequent challenges faced when telephone prospecting, and has resulted in many lost opportunities. The activity of effective listening is a process that consists of four steps. “Hearing”, which is the element of listening that occurs when sound waves strike the ear at a certain frequency and loudness, which can also be influenced by surroundings. ”Filtering” is the process of evaluating the messages based on the relevance of the message to our values and beliefs. “Understanding” occurs when, so to speak, the “light goes on” making sense of the message heard. “Responding” consists of giving both verbal and nonverbal feedback to the speaker by way of eye contact, posture, facial expressions, tone and pitch of your voice.
Selective listening is a approach, which involves focusing on specific aspects of a conversation that you believe to be relevant, while ignoring others. Although selective listening can be a powerful tool in controlling a conversation, it can also hinder a conversation, causing damage when the selection process is based solely on our own believe system. This is where the phrase “being open-minded” needs to be remembered. Practical Steps For More Effective Listening 1. Talk less. You have one mouth and two ears – that should tell you something. 2. Express patience. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it appears as if you are not listening, even if you really were. 3. Remove distractions. We are constantly hearing so when listening it is important for you to hear what is being said. Do everything you can to eliminate internal and external noise, along with any distractions that interfere with your listening. 4. Presume nothing. All of us are guilty of forming predetermined judgments and evaluating situations before understanding the circumstances, especially when they may conflict with our own. 5. Stay focused. We think much faster than people speak so it can be easy to let our mind wander, especially if we think we know what the person is going to say. 6. Ask genuine questions. If you are not sure you understand what has just been said, ask. “Devil’s advocate” questions are really statements or criticisms in disguise. Genuine questions are requests for new information that clarifies thoughts and/or feelings. 7. Paraphrase. Effective listening is reflective listening. Reword the speaker’s thoughts in your own words to make sure your understanding. “So what I am hearing you say is…”
9. Listen with Empathy, not sympathy. Empathic listening knows that given the same set of circumstances you might have done the same thing. It is the ability to experience the world from the other’s point of view. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you agree, but that you understand. 10. Give feedback. In a face to face meeting, facial expression and eye contact are important nonverbal methods of letting the other person know you are listening. On the phone, nothing screams louder that you are not listening than a lack of feedback. A way to achieve good feedback is with acknowledgments of “oks”, “I sees” and “uh huhs”. 11. Tone never lies. You need to be especially attentive to the tonal response of the other person we are having a discussion with. The tone of someone's voice is a real tell-all indicator, not only as to their interest in the subject, but also how well your message is being heard. Effective listening is being involved, rather than standing on the side lines and requires effort that improves with practice. "Nature has given to men one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak." ~ James Thurber Back to Home Page |
