Listen for Your Prospect's Gap

By Keith Rosen, MCC
The Executive Sales Coach TM

When you listen to a prospect, what exactly are you listening for? You certainly want to hear the gap, that which is missing. After all, you are presenting your solution to them, which fills their void, gap, or problem. So sell the gap! It is your solution, product, or service that becomes the bridge, taking the prospect from their present state to their desired state.

Keep in mind that the gap can differ from what they want or need. The client himself may not even be aware of it. If you can identify this gap, you can then bridge it with the right solution.

A client of mine hired me to train his company's sales team. As I explored the business and staff, I discovered that they were experiencing a large amount of turnover. There were many inconsistencies and breakdowns in their recruiting and hiring process. There was no documented process for staff members and administrators to follow consistently in order to attract the best talent, to screen candidates, or to retain new hires.

I found that they were experiencing a 35 percent attrition rate. I proposed a sales training program and also a more in depth solution to developing and strengthening their recruiting and retention strategy. In this way, they could reduce the amount of attrition and complement the training.

The result was a comprehensive recruitment and retention strategy which ultimately reduced turnover within their company dramatically. That was the gap that I was able to fill. Simply by listening deeper, I was able to uncover their true needs, their core challenges, and where their breakdown began. It was what they weren't saying that I listened for: the challenges, needs, and points of pain that they did not outwardly articulate.

There is a symbiotic relationship between the way we listen and the questions we ask. For example, if you're already listening from a certain place or through a particular filter, then you are not going to ask the questions that will create new selling opportunities.

After all, if you listen from the past and react based on past experiences or future expectations, you will continue to create the same, unchanged results.

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About Keith Rosen, MCC -- The Executive Sales Coach
Keith Rosen is the executive sales coach that top corporations, executives, and sales professionals call first. As an engaging speaker, Master Coach, and well-known author of many books and articles, Keith is one of the foremost authorities on coaching people to achieve positive change in their attitude, behavior, and results. For his work as a pioneer and leader in the coaching profession, Inc. magazine and Fast Company named Keith one of the five most respected and influential executive coaches in the country.

If you're ready for better results quickly, contact Keith about personal or team coaching and training at 1-888-262-2450 or e-mail info@profitbuilders.com. Visit Keith Rosen online at Profit Builders and be sure to sign up for his free newsletter The Winners Path.