Listening

Most people think they listen well. The truth is, listening is a skill that must be developed and worked with over time. Even when you are an adept listener you have to continue to question what you are not hearing, to learn what information is under the surface.

Most of listening is not verbal. Less than 10% of what people say is what they really mean. You need to be aware of their surroundings and their body language to truly understand their situations.

In addition, you have to listen without ego. Do not judge the information, do not answer questions for the speaker, do not finish sentences for them.

Do make sure that you are not just waiting for your turn to talk.

A great way to practice listening skills is to talk to teenagers. Try to really listen without judgement and to understand.

Here's an example.

"Hey Johnnie, what are you doing?"

Johnnie "Nothing."

(note: Johnnie is playing a video game while you ask him this question, so he's obviously not doing something. His words do not reflect his actions. As you ask the question note the tone of his voice. Is he saying 'nothing' to get rid of you or curious to see if you'll ask more questions to find out what is really going on with him? It's critical here not to get angry or frustrated and to be open to his answers. If you don't he'll shut down and communication will stop.)

A great exercise to use in any situation is to ask 20 open-ended questions. Open-ended questions cannot be answered with a yes or no answer. You will get much more information than with a closed-ended question. If you do ask a closed-ended question, be sure to follow up with an open-ended question. If you get stuck and cannot think of one, try using the words "Tell me" before any question.

An example is "Tell me how you made the decision to purchase your last software program?"

Two exercises I use in Sales Trainings are "Tell me about the house you grew up in" or "Tell me about the first car you bought". I have one participant ask open-ended questions and one listen and take notes. It's a lot of fun to see where the topics go and what is learned about the person being questioned.

Give 20 open-ended questions a try. You can try it with a business colleague, a friend, a spouse, a child. You'll have fun. I promise.

Close Ratio

As of today's writing, my close ratio on renting my apartment is 0. I have had 16 showings and 0 closes.

My contractor is amazed. He says that all his apartments rent on the first showing. I believe he thinks I am at fault in some way. That somehow I'm less enthusiastic than he is or I'm not pointing out selling features. Although this hurts my ego a bit, it could be true. What also could be true is that this is a tougher economy. He currently does not have any apartments for rent, so he's not experiencing what I'm experiencing. Renters seem to either 1) want to stay where they are or 2) get a very low rent even though the apartment has many upgrades they can't easily find. and 3) There are many apartments available for rent in this market. Some are comparable and some are not.

My Realtor seems to think it's because she does not have an exclusive listing on the apartment. Could be true. She sent me a very thoughtful email on all the benefits of an exclusive listing. I'll be open to next time but this time I had done so much marketing on my own I can't forgo it in anticipation that an exclusive listing will bring me a renter.

At this point, we don't know because we don't have any closes. Our marketing analysis to this point only shows us cost per lead.

My Realtor - 5 leads - $0 (no cost is incurred until there is a close)

ChicagoReader - 5 leads over a 3 week period. $171 ($57 a week) + $70 1 rental application (minus $70 rental application fee was charged back to potential renter) Cost per lead = $34.20.

CraigsList - 0 leads/$0

CraigsList Garage - 3 leads/$0

FreePress - 0 leads/$64 (ran the ad for 1 week. We are $64 in the hole here.)

Posted Flyers- 0 leads/$0

Apt Ppl - 2 leads/$0 (you only pay when they close)

Chgo Apt Finders - 1 lead/$0 (you only pay when you close)

Apt Exchange - 0 leads/$0

At this point, we cannot analyze the close ratio. Our cost per lead analysis says - keep trying creative things with Craigslist, the Realtor is doing great, we need to learn more here about why that is the case, the Chicago Reader seems to produce results, the apartment agencies don't seem to produce as much as you think they would, we need to ask more questions here, the FreePress doesn't seem to be worth the investment, so that's been dropped and lastly posting flyers doesn't seem to produce a thing.

In sales, leads are important but sales are more important. Sure you wants lots of leads but if your close ratio is down, who cares? Getting 10 leads and closing 5 is a 50% close ratio, getting 100 leads and closing 5 is a 5% close ratio. What you want to do is look at the 50% close ratio and increase it. In addition, you want to look at the 5% close ratio and increase it.

It's tempting to confuse activity with productivity. Don't fall into the trap.

Marketing Analysis

A marketing analysis is taking a look at all your marketing activities and measuring which ones are the most effective so that you can create repeatable patterns.

To give you an example, I'll use my Chicago apartment for rent. The showings to potential renters have come from:

My Realtor: 5
Chicago Reader: 5
CraigsList, Apartment: 0
CraigsList, Garage: 3
Free Press: 0
Posted Flyers: 0
Apt People: 2
Chicago Apartment Finders: 1
Apartment Exchange: 0

As I look at these results, I can see that my realtor and the Chicago Reader have done pretty well for me.

A Chicago Reader ad has cost me $57.00 a week and I've run it for 3 weeks.

My realtor will take one months rent equal to $1,195.

Craigslist is free but isn't producing anything for me. Craigslist has a great reputation for finding renters and I've had good luck before. So I started to analyze, "why is it not the case anymore?"

When you check a Craigslist listing for an apartment, you are overwhelmed with daily postings. The posters have figured out how to post the same property every day in a different way. The renters are overwhelmed and frustrated. Taking a look at this information and asking questions is an example of listening.

I decided to try a backdoor approach to CraigsList, posting the garage thinking that if someone needed a garage, they might need an apartment too. This idea produced three inquiries.

Then I ask, why is the realtor doing well? I can post on the MLS myself for a fee. I believe it's because she is a long-term professional realtor. Her postings have credibility. She's known in her marketplace. When she has a posting, other realtors who know her take notice.

Why is the Chicago Reader doing well? I think it's because Craigslist is so saturated. The Reader is easier to read and there's less competition because of the small weekly fee. It is also distributed in a target market that has a high population of renters.

This is an example of a marketing analysis. When clients ask "what marketing/sales initiative should I use?" My response is to try several and test them. Once you see positive patterns, invest more in the initiative that is producing results.

That's how it works.

Enthusiasm

All things being equal, if I have a decision to make, I'll choose the sales person that has enthusiasm for their product or service.

Enthusiasm goes a long, long way.

It's true, you won't be successful selling something that you don't care about.

References

I love when prospects ask for references. Before I landed a Sales Training client the prospect asked me, "what makes you different than anyone else?" My response was "passionate, enthusiastic references." He hired me on the spot, although he didn't check the references.

I always check. You learn a lot.

Tough Personalities

As a sales rep I've always been good with the tough personality. You know the type. He's the guy that lets you into his office but doesn't invite you to sit down and gives you five minutes while he's looking at his watch to tell him what you're trying to sell him.

Here's how I learned how to deal with that personality. I'd look around the office for clues. If I'd see a family photo of him with young children, I'd think "I bet he's a really good and loving grandfather." I'd focus on that thought, greet him with a big smile and start asking questions about how I might be able to help.

It works. I'd build a connection with someone who was used to intimidating people. Try it.

The Difference Between a Feature and a Benefit

A feature is something your product has. If you are a realtor and you are selling a house on a tree-lined street, the tree-lined street is a feature.

A benefit is a feature that the prospect cares about.

If your prospect loves uninterrupted sunlight streaming through every window in the house, the tree-lined street is not a benefit to that buyer. When selling, a sales person needs to understand what features the prospect cares about.

The only way to know what they care about, is by asking questions and listening very carefully to their answers.