{"id":1284,"date":"2007-11-12T15:21:23","date_gmt":"2007-11-12T21:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/11\/presumed-solutions-to-unqualified-problems\/"},"modified":"2007-11-12T15:21:24","modified_gmt":"2007-11-12T21:21:24","slug":"presumed-solutions-to-unqualified-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/11\/presumed-solutions-to-unqualified-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Presumed Solutions To Unqualified Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Salesopedia&#8217;s topic this week is listening.&nbsp; Is there a more important ability in sales?&nbsp; The article &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salesopedia.com\/content\/view\/607\/10479\/\" target=\"_blank\">Active Listening and Active Rainmaking<\/a> &#8211; discusses techniques for being an active listener.&nbsp; The tips are excellent, but I particularly enjoyed this insight:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Often times the technical training and development of service providers hinders their ability to be good listeners. Due to the nature of their work, engineers, lawyers, accountants, and consultants of all types are extremely knowledgeable in their particular area of expertise. In order to get their jobs done and done well, they often need to be directive and tell people what to do to complete the tasks on which they are working. However, when it comes to active listening they are required to sit back and resist the urge to chime in with presumed solutions to problems that have not yet been fully explained. Balancing this can be a difficult task for many professionals faced with the challenge of both selling and delivering services.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That is right down the center of the plate.&nbsp; I have firsthand experience selling with an engineer on the call.&nbsp; Many sales calls ended with the engineer offering solutions to partially qualified prospects.&nbsp; Listening is difficult.&nbsp; Listening, and not solving,&nbsp;when you believe you have a good solution is more difficult.<\/p>\n<p>So on to the author&#8217;s suggestions &#8211; the most effective one I have encountered is this one:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u2022 <strong>Rephrase<\/strong>: \u201cJust so I understand\u201d are four very powerful words. When someone else is describing something to you, they often take a long time to make relatively few points. They may go on for 10 minutes without a breath. When they&#8217;re done, you can say, \u201cJust so I understand, it seems that A and B are happening, and that&#8217;s creating the problems of X, Y, and Z. Is that correct?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>When you rephrase a 10 minute soliloquy into 30 seconds of summary, clients are impressed\u2026partly by how smart you are (and you didn&#8217;t even say much), but mostly by how well you listen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This approach is the most effective because it can only be done when you actively listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salesopedia&#8217;s topic this week is listening.&nbsp; Is there a more important ability in sales?&nbsp; The article &#8211; Active Listening and Active Rainmaking &#8211; discusses techniques for being an active listener.&nbsp; The tips are excellent, but I particularly enjoyed this insight: Often times the technical training and development of service providers hinders their ability to be good listeners. Due to the nature of their work, engineers, lawyers, accountants, and consultants of all types are extremely knowledgeable in their particular area of expertise. In order to get their jobs done and done well, they often need to be directive and tell people what to do to complete the tasks on which they&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/11\/presumed-solutions-to-unqualified-problems\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication","category-sales-techniques"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-kI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1725,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/09\/building-rapport\/","url_meta":{"origin":1284,"position":0},"title":"Building Rapport","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"September 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Saleshq.com provides a simple list of suggestions for building rapport and connecting with others at networking events.\u00a0 I'm not certain the list is all that remarkable, but I was struck by a couple of tips: 5. Show interest in your conversational partner by actively listening and giving verbal feedback. Maintain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Communication&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Communication","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/communication\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":730,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/03\/sales-traits-series-integrative-ability\/","url_meta":{"origin":1284,"position":1},"title":"Sales Traits Series &#8211; Integrative Ability","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"March 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This week's trait is one we bandy about here at Select Metrix often regarding salespeople.\u00a0 This trait is important in all sales but especially in complex selling environments.\u00a0 Pay special attention to the weakness description - it is a common issue we encounter amongst salespeople struggling in a complex sale.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aptitudes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aptitudes","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/aptitudes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":205,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2006\/08\/active-writing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1284,"position":2},"title":"Active Writing","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"August 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This may be a bit self-indulgent, but writing style is a favorite topic of mine. Dan Tudor over at Landing the Deal authored this post - Great Sales Copywriting a couple days ago. The tip in the post are applicable to all writing, not just sales copy. The takeaway tip:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Communication&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Communication","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/communication\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1022,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/06\/its-all-in-the-questions\/","url_meta":{"origin":1284,"position":3},"title":"It&#8217;s All In The Questions","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Selling Power provides an excellent article regarding a sales ability that is often overlooked - The Art of Asking Great Questions.\u00a0 Listening is an important sales skill that leads to qualifying success.\u00a0 But as the article points out, listening ability it not worth much if you cannot ask the right\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hiring Salespeople&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hiring Salespeople","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/hiring-salespeople\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2505,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2019\/06\/finding-sales-talent-in-other-departments\/","url_meta":{"origin":1284,"position":4},"title":"Finding Sales Talent In Other Departments","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/2HeH_32E2PY The labor market is as tight as it has been in decades leading some to say we are at full employment. This labor scarcity is driving companies to look for sales talent in other departments. Have you ever thought someone would be good at selling? Do they seem to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hiring Salespeople&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hiring Salespeople","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/hiring-salespeople\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2HeH_32E2PY\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1077,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/07\/sales-success-is-in-the-questions\/","url_meta":{"origin":1284,"position":5},"title":"Sales Success Is In The Questions","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"A common myth - the best salespeople are great talkers first and foremost.\u00a0 Most people have heard that one\u00a0yet it is simply not true.\u00a0 The ability to communicate effectively involves speaking and listening - it is difficult to find strength in both of these abilities. ManageSmarter.com offers The Power of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sales Management&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sales Management","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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