I recently had a conversation with a salesperson …. sort of.

She was very excited about what she was offering. Her product sounded great. It had all sorts of components that I knew I could benefit from. But, I didn’t buy it.

Why?

Even though I could tell the value of the product I didn’t trust the seller. I don’t mean I didn’t trust her as a person. I did. I liked her. She was very bubbly and intelligent. BUT, I didn’t trust her to really care about me.

In the 30 minute ‘conversation’ we had she did not make me feel seen and heard, understood or appreciated. She did not make me feel felt.
She didn’t make me feel much of anything except a bit frustrated.

She talked too much and asked too little. She didn’t really listen. I disconnected.

People buy on emotion justified by logic.

I could see lots of logical reasons to buy her product, but I did not feel good enough to go ahead.

Great salespeople appreciate the value of being great listeners.

Great listening is not only important to salespeople. It matters to parents, trying to get through to their kids; employers, trying to direct employees; customer service reps trying to assist clients; healers trying to help patients; teachers trying to connect with their students; partners trying to keep their homes happy …..and the list goes on.

In our extroverted, quippy, broadcasting society Great Listeners are undervalued and hard to come by, leaving many of us starving for the feeling of being cared about.

Fortunately great listening can be LEARNED. ❤️