7 steps To a Great Interview
7 steps To a Great Interview
I sat stunned, because I didn't know what I said to earn such praise. Thinking about it made me wonder even more, as for most of the meeting I just listened.
Well, I also asked a few questions to get him to tell me more. But, mainly I listened.
That's not to say I'm not a good talker. I can bore the best of them. But with Stan's client I knew enough to shut up.
Curiosity helps; wanting to know more about the other person. My sincere curiosity about Stan's client encouraged him to tell me more about himself, his family, his business, and his hopes and plans for all of them.
He considered me 'a brilliant conversationalist' because he did 90% of the talking!
This meant shorting out all those brilliant ideas, answers, and opinions that leapt into my mind. And I did not interrupt. Not easy.
I jotted down these points shortly after that meeting:
1. Listen. With sincere interest.
2. Don't judge a person by how they look, or sound.
3. Don't label anything said as good, bad, right, or wrong.
4. Don't interrupt.
5. Ask questions to clarify what you've heard, and to learn more about your prospect's attitudes, hopes, and fears.
6. Don't inject your thoughts or ideas.
7. Don't come up with answers until your client understands and accepts the problem.
You don't need a client to practice these steps. Try them on anyone---the next person you're talking to, for example. Your spouse, kid, mother---all who say “You never listen!”
Prove them wrong by practicing a great interview technique.
Who knows? You might become 'a brilliant conversationalist'.
7 steps To a Great Interview - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.
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Stan Tucker brought his client into my Montreal office to learn about a new tax-saving concept. After the meeting, Stan returned to my office and said “You impressed him. He called you a brilliant conversationalist.”
I sat stunned, because I didn't know what I said to earn such praise. Thinking about it made me wonder even more, as for most of the meeting I just listened.
Well, I also asked a few questions to get him to tell me more. But, mainly I listened.
That's not to say I'm not a good talker. I can bore the best of them. But with Stan's client I knew enough to shut up.
Curiosity helps; wanting to know more about the other person. My sincere curiosity about Stan's client encouraged him to tell me more about himself, his family, his business, and his hopes and plans for all of them.
He considered me 'a brilliant conversationalist' because he did 90% of the talking!
This meant shorting out all those brilliant ideas, answers, and opinions that leapt into my mind. And I did not interrupt. Not easy.
I jotted down these points shortly after that meeting:
1. Listen. With sincere interest.
2. Don't judge a person by how they look, or sound.
3. Don't label anything said as good, bad, right, or wrong.
4. Don't interrupt.
5. Ask questions to clarify what you've heard, and to learn more about your prospect's attitudes, hopes, and fears.
6. Don't inject your thoughts or ideas.
7. Don't come up with answers until your client understands and accepts the problem.
You don't need a client to practice these steps. Try them on anyone---the next person you're talking to, for example. Your spouse, kid, mother---all who say “You never listen!”
Prove them wrong by practicing a great interview technique.
Who knows? You might become 'a brilliant conversationalist'.
7 steps To a Great Interview - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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