Coach's Blog » The Power of the Pregnant Pause
The Power of the Pregnant Pause
“There are people who, instead of listening to what is being said to them, are already listening to what they are going to say themselves.” -Albert Guinon, French Playwright (1863-1923)
I want to remind you to slow down. Not in your marketing efforts, business planning, or new strategy development, just during your sales calls. It is estimated that less than 3 percent of our time spent selling is actually “face time” with a referral source. Since most of us spend thousands of dollars each year to reach that precious 3 percent, it is really important that we are as effective as possible.
The art of effective communication begins with a plan of action. Time spent on pre-call planning pays great dividends. We always practice what we plan to say. I challenge you to practice the other (oftentimes more important) part of communication – listening.
Are you an effective listener? Most salespeople overestimate their abilities in this area. In home care sales, listening is far more important than speaking. Referring back to my seminars and the blog Home Care Sales 101, you will find the most important part of a home care service sale is the interview. To properly interview a referral source, you must be an effective listener.
Being an active listener is a talent that requires practice and focus. To maintain your customer’s trust during the interview you must remain alert, maintain eye contact, reflect the correct facial expressions, and in no case should you interrupt. This sounds simple but it is definitely not. More often than not, trust is lost when an ineffective listening technique is performed.
Practice eye contact in the mirror with affirmative and agreeing facial expressions. Have a coworker practice with you while retelling a story you have already heard to see if they ever feel as if you’ve lost interest. Try only adding conversational filler statements such as “I see” or “Yes, I understand.” Oftentimes you will force a referral source to go beyond their “standard” responses and get closer to their true needs and expectations.
Finally, here’s my proven and effective coaching statement of the week: There is Power in the Pregnant Pause. As a home care salesperson, we are all taught to get out all our unique abilities and present agency first and foremost. This is very important and most seasoned salespeople really excel in this area. However, the most effective home care sales representatives know how to turn a pause into a period when referral sources sell themselves!
A “Pregnant Pause” is a powerful thing. In the art of conversation, we instinctively want the flow to be recognizable. If a referral source has had this conversation with your competition on numerous occasions (and take it from me, they have), they know the routine. A noticeable pause without words will most often result in the customer filling up the conversation with your next statement! Only this time it will be the referral source taking up the conversation flow toward your sale. It will be far more effective with your referral stating your agency’s abilities while you continue to practice effective listening.
Try this communication technique with your friends, colleagues, or family and see how effective a listener you can be.
My sales coaches and I have conducted hundreds of role-plays with attendees of my Big Referrals Boot Camps here in Nashville, TN. The number one and two mistakes made during live role-play presentations is not knowing your referral sources’ needs, and “dumping the bucket” – rattling off every service your company ever thought about having. Most of us continue talking in an attempt to cover up a lack of knowledge or to prevent the referral source from exiting the conversation.
Unfortunately, your customers are more like you than you may give them credit for being. They would much rather talk than listen. Use this to your advantage and learn as much as possible about their company and its needs.
It doesn’t matter what kind of great birdhouses you are selling if your customer has come to buy seeds!
Try slowing down the sale and just listen. Listening builds trust. It is such a powerful tool in developing the art and skill of conversation that as a home care salesperson, you will never be successful until it is mastered. The more you listen to your prospects and referral sources, the more they trust you and believe in what you are telling them. Listening also allows you to understand your clients’ needs so that you can better serve them and build stronger relationships.
To access my pre-call and post-call sales planning sheets and a ton more, sign up for MyHomeCareSalesCoach.com and take your referrals to the next level! Sign up today for a free 30-minute coaching call during which you will learn popular strategies that are working for companies all across the country. You will also get some free samples of effective marketing ideas sent to your company. Click here to sign up.
Working to grow your referrals,
Adam
a.k.a. – Home Care Referral-Man
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