Listening – the Perfect Lubricant for Prospecting

Anything with moving parts is going to generate friction. And make no mistake - prospecting conversations have plenty of moving parts.

• You don’t have time for eventually . In situational prospecting, conversations develop as a result of random encounters. Often you will have only 1 or 2 minutes to connect and make an offer. You don’t even know each other. What reason does a prospect have to share their personal “wants” in such a brief conversation? You can waste a lot of prospecting opportunities if you’re waiting for prospects to share that kind of information.
• Targeting the prospect’s “want list” is presumptuous. So what if you manage to learn something the prospect would like to have? Bear in mind that you don’t really know the prospect. Suggesting that you have the “One and Only Special Magic Opportunity” that will solve his problems and fulfill his heart’s desires, is at best, hard to believe, and at worst, arrogant. Talk about friction! These are not the messages of a master prospector.

Just how does one go about lubricating a conversation? Simple - listen for how he is thinking, not what he’s thinking.

The bottom line is that anytime the prospect has to translate your verbal sense words into his internal sense words, rapport becomes more difficult.

When you express yourself in the same sense as your prospects, you minimize conversational friction, which in turn, makes your communication smoother and more effective.

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