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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Donald F. Pooley
(Visit Donald's Website)
Don Pooley, the author of this article,
allows you to publish
it if you include these credit lines:
Copyright 2005, Donald F. Pooley, Inc.
Don Pooley CLU, CFP, CHFC, "The
Advisor's Advisor" has shared
his marketing know-how with audiences of
life insurance men
in all major Canadian cities, London,
Australia, Chicago, New
York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and
Singapore, and now in his
free ezine. To get more ideas on marketing
your services, plus
free ebooks, subscribe now at www.eTIP.ca/
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