How good of a listener are you?

I’m the first to admit I’m not a great listener…and I have a wife who does a great job reminding me of this shortcoming! But it would behoove me both personally and professionally to be a better listener. For example, an important part of my job is interviewing others and I’m sure that my question-asking ability would improve if I listened more closely and carefully. I’m comforted in knowing that I’m not alone; most people are not great listeners.

Until recently, I hadn’t given much thought about how important it is for sales professionals to be good listeners. That is, until I had the privilege of moderating October’s PCT-hosted virtual event “A Systematic Approach to Selling Pest Control Services” presented by AdviCoach consultants Randy Moser and Mark Zajac.

In preparing for the webinar I gathered PCT research and scoured the PCT magazine archives to find articles in which leading PCOs discussed the most important traits of their standout sales professionals. Much of my research findings was consistent with what I had observed. Traits that PCOs see in their best sales professionals include: persistence; persuasiveness; drive and ambition; forward-thinkingness; ability to build relationships, etc.

What did surprise me is that the No. 1 trait revealed in our research, and consistently cited by leading PCOs, was “the ability to listen.” Interesting. My image of many sales professionals is that of a fast and constant talker — someone who doesn’t like silence. But PCOs we interviewed said that is not the case with present-day pest control sales, which have become less transactional. As one of the PCOs we interviewed observed of his standout sales professionals, “They don’t go in there with a pitch. They listen to what the customer has to say, ask questions and tailor a program to meet their needs.

“You will learn exactly what she wants to hear in terms of you being able to solve her problem.”

The good news for those of us who need and want to become better listeners is that listening is a skill that can be practiced. In the Forbes.com article “How Important is Listening, Really?” writer Christina Holbrook McEntee provided readers with the following listening exercise: “Try listening for just one day to someone you are close to: your husband or wife, child or parent. Try really listening to a difficult business colleague or client. And when they finish, don’t let your self-assertion jump in with ‘yes, but…’ — get rid of the word ‘but’ altogether — it only serves to negate everything the person you are listening to has just said. Instead, if you do say anything, try asking ‘What else?’ You don’t need to do this perfectly for the results to be quite remarkable. All of us want to be listened to, all of us want to really be heard. When someone senses you are really listening to what they have to say amazing things can happen. Solutions can be found that were never imagined.”

And today’s pest control consumer wants you to be more of a “solutions finder” and less of a “used car salesman,” as Moser emphasized during the recent PCT virtual event. “The days of high-selling pressure in this industry are over,” he said. “When you properly identify a need and present a solution that fills that need, the customer will buy as opposed to you having to sell.”

The PCT staff just returned from NPMA PestWorld in Nashville. We provided live coverage from the event and we’ll have additional editorial coverage of the educational sessions in the coming months. At our booth it was great to have Board Certified Entomologist and consultant Stoy Hedges on hand to give demonstrations and answer user questions about the new PCT Distance Learning Center label training program and interactive courses. We’ve received great feedback on the courses, which use photographs, video clips and reference materials to challenge users’ knowledge about pesticide labels. If you haven’t done so already, check out this program at http://training.pctonline.com.