Episode Overview

In this episode, Gerhard talks about how to listen more and sell more. It’s a fun episode that offers guidance on how to show up with a listening mindset and be present for the customer and ready to discuss the customer problem.

 

Episode Timestamps

[0:28] Gerhard Introduction

• Salespeople talk too much:
• • Anxiety as a cause.
• The first rule for having a good conversation is to prepare yourself:
• • Come in with a clean slate.
  • Mindset of being there for the other person.
  • Use the formula that Dr. Lyman K. Steil developed for listening.
• Many reps will come in and fake listening and wait for the other person to say a trigger word that will then get them into their storyline.
• Salespeople go in and hear the customer say something about having a thought and wanting to explore a different solution, and then instantly launch into a pitch into the solution without really knowing what the problem is.

 

[3:36] Story About Preacher in Midwestern Town

• Do not immediately dump your entire pitch on your customer when they first walk in.

 

[5:43] Listening Model – How Do You Get Yourself Into the Listening Mindset?

• You are talking to a human being, not a human doing.
• • Be present for that human being.
• Practice mindfulness technique:
• • Breathe in – I am aware of my body.
  • Breathe out – I am letting go of all my tensions.
• SIER Formula:
• • Step 1– Sensing.
  • Step 2– Interpret those senses.
  • Step 3– Evaluate what you have heard.
  • Step 4– Respond.
• By following this formula you go through 3 steps before responding to your client.
• • Gives you a better chance of hitting your target.
• Stop and ask questions if the other person is giving you a warning signal.

 

[10:41] Flow of Conversation

• The state of flow is a magical state leads to the creation of something new:
• • Can forget where you are.
  • Can lose sense of time.
  • Everything is pushed back to the periphery.
• You can go into the conversation with the customer intending to co-create something new and with the intention of being in the flow with them.

 

[12:28] Constructivism in Education

• Point of view around the student/teacher relationship.
• Dialogue and assimilation.
• • Both start to co-create this new way of being.
• We, as salespeople, need to be “merchants of hope”.
• If you find yourself being critical about the customer, it’s probably because you are being critical of yourself.

 

[18:23] Storyteller vs. Storyseller

• Storyteller is when you do it for your own amusement.
• Storyseller is strategic.
• • Have a number of stories that you can weave into your customer conversation at the most appropriate time.
• Selling is a process of co-creation:
• • You create the questions, and the customer creates the responses.
• If you are too far ahead of the customer, then you lose the customer.
• If you are too far behind the customer, then the customer is going to lose you.
• You want to be in step with the customer and be in the flow.

 

Additional Resources

• Gerhard Gschwandtner on LinkedIn
• SIER Hierarchy of Active Listening
• Dr. Albert Mehrabian Communication Studies
• Dr. Mihaly and what flow means in the brain  

 

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Credits

Sound editing and show notes produced by – ChirpSound