A tale of two salesmen

I had the great fortune to sit next to a professional fund-raiser today. I asked him the the secret of his success, and he said, "It's all in the listening. I ask them what matters to them, I listen to their emotions, and then I put all that together in a proposal." He repeated, "It's all in the listening." Later in the day I called a company to ask about getting an expensive service. I told the salesman what I needed, stressing that convenience was important in this case. He told me the way the company worked, which was definitely not customer-friendly but was employee-convenient. I told him why I needed it be more convenient to me, and he said "We don't do it that way." Case closed, sale lost, employee clueless. Are you in the business of selling ideas, services or products, informally or as a profession? Remember the fund-raiser's words: "It's all in the listening." Knowing what matters to your prospect helps you emphasize vital points that will make a sale. As for the emphatic "We don't do it that way", that leads to closing of the wallet! Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills, including sales and executive communication skills. Training options include in-person coaching and convenient e-books! Check us out at www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com  .