[00:00:00] Hey, everybody, Chris here. We're trying something a little bit different than what we normally do for the podcast. We're doing solo episodes. These are shorter, more contained, built around certain themes and questions I think are very relevant for us to be talking about. So wherever you're listening to this, however you're seeing this, let us know in the comments and the feedback what you think and we'll make some adjustments.

[00:00:38] Today's episode I'm going to talk to you about the ways that you need to listen and that's their secret power to selling more with less effort. And it's very counterintuitive to the way that you've seen people sell on pop culture, maybe in sales coaching programs by supposed sales professionals and trainers.

[00:00:55] What I've come to realize that especially coming from the point of view of an introvert, [00:01:00] one who likes to listen more than speak, that ultimately that became my secret weapon to selling more. Let me expand on this. If you're doing your job well in the sales process, it shouldn't feel any different than you catching up with a good friend to see what's going on in their business.

[00:01:14] There should be no agenda and no ulterior motive. I've mentioned this to a couple of people. Do you notice how that when you're talking to someone, you could smell their agenda? So what they think is a secret agenda is a not so secret agenda. When somebody's on stage and they're speaking, You can smell the book sale coming.

[00:01:32] You can sell the sales program or the coaching or the mastermind coming. You can smell all the things that they're trying to get you to think and do. How does that make you feel? And does it take away all the goodwill that was supposed to be there? You already got us in the room. We're already listening to you.

[00:01:47] We're looking up to you. And by doing these things, you undermine your own goodwill and authority. And so, What you really want to do is to be able to sit apart from a person, engage in dialogue, not [00:02:00] monologue, you want to listen more than you talk, and we have a rough rule, it's an 80 20 rule, that you should be listening 80 percent of the time and only talking 20 percent of the time.

[00:02:09] So do yourself a favor, after your next sales conversation, look at the transcript and analyze for how much you were talking versus the client. If it's not anywhere near the 2080, you're doing something wrong. It's time for a quick break, but we'll be right back.

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[00:02:48] Check it out at future. com slash pro.

[00:02:54] And we're back. Welcome back to our conversation. By listening [00:03:00] to people, they feel heard. They feel seen and most importantly, they feel understood. And that's the beginning of trust. That's how you build rapport. And I'm not going to give you money if I don't trust you, if I don't feel like you understand me or understand the problem.

[00:03:16] So what you want to do is you want to be a very intentional listener and ask questions that are evidence based based on what you just heard. I'll give you the example. If the client says my car blew up and then I need a new website, you just move right on to the website. You didn't acknowledge the fact that the car blew up.

[00:03:34] And so then they're thinking, okay, he's only hearing half of the things about what I'm saying, but he's mostly just interested in what helps him with his agenda. This is really important. And the worst version of this is you don't ask about the car that exploded or the website that they need help with.

[00:03:49] You ask some other random question about a video marketing effort, a social media podcast, anything that you want to do. And so they're sitting there scratching their head. Yeah. Now, most people, especially in America, are quite polite. [00:04:00] They'll go along with you. They'll answer your questions. They'll entertain us.

[00:04:03] But you know what they're really thinking? They have no freaking clue this is what they're thinking about you. They're not listening. And I can't wait for this conversation to be over. So what they'll say something is. To fact send me a proposal that is the kiss of death. It's like, I'm done with this conversation.

[00:04:19] Please go work on something so I can get out of here and I'm just going to ignore it when it comes. So if you wanna avoid clients ghosting you and hearing all kinds of false leads or feigned interest in what you're doing. become really interested in them. I think it was John Maxwell who said this. I'm not sure if I quoted the wrong person.

[00:04:39] To be interesting, be interested. And if you can do that, the person is going to feel, if all things are equal, that you are more qualified to do the project that And the next [00:05:00] person I'm going to talk to.

[00:05:26] If you'd like to support the show and invest in yourself while you're at it, visit thefuture.com and you'll find video courses, digital products, and a bunch of helpful resources about design and the creative business. Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next time.