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Sales Secrets Blog: Happy Ears

Deborah Tamburri

Sales Strategist | C-Level Sales | Complex Enterprise Engagements | Change Management |Small to Medium Business Solutions | Off-Road Enthusiast

Referred to as ‘Happy Ears,’ this behavior is the death knell of any aspiring sales professional. The term conjures the image of large, floppy appendages fluttering in the breeze of your prospects commentary. A ridiculous image and a curse, ‘Happy Ears' must be overcome in order to be successful. Born of enthusiasm, training your Happy Ears is a rite of passage travelled by every single sales professional. While the lesson may have humiliating and disastrous consequences I hope your ‘Happy Ears’ debacle doesn’t rob you of a fabulous sales career.

Recognize the problem. You have Happy Ears when you truly believe every call you made today will end in a sale. You have Happy Ears when day after busy day you find yourself no closer to any finished business. Yet on a cloud of euphoria you tell management all about your success/activity. Upon answering the first few questions from management the cloud of euphoria dissipates and you’re faced with reality. Do they have a budget? Do they have a timeline? You don’t know. Shoulders slouching you return to your desk, frustrated and demoralized.

Happy Ears is the result of enthusiasm without discipline and training. Don’t be demoralized. Learn a few simple skills and you’ll soon close your best quarter ever.

Skill One

Don’t confuse activity with accomplishment

Suppose you were assigned the job of moving 300 head of cattle from low to high pasture. Would you simply jump on a horse and start chasing cows? If this is your strategy then you run a high probability of running cows straight into a gully of water and mud from which none of you would return. The strategy of activity doesn’t get you where you need to go. Cows, like prospects have their own agenda and it is not the same as yours.

A successful delivery of cows AND customers requires a map with specific directions from point A to point B. That clear map is the difference between activity and accomplishment, which leads to:

Skill Two

Set Goals

Have a specific goal for each and every prospect communication. It isn’t enough to just get your prospect to talk to you. You must have an agenda, which will lead to either qualification or disqualification. Once qualification has occurred each subsequent communication must drill down on the specifics of your prospects needs, process and fit for your product or service.

Skill Three

Qualify, Qualify, Qualify!

Lets say you’ve got a funnel full of ‘interested’ sales inquiries. By qualification you understand that your goal is to eliminate those companies that aren’t opportunities as fast as possible. The sooner you do that, the quicker you’ll find the ones that are most likely to convert into customers. The biggest mistake you can make is to keep working leads that will probably never convert. My mental image for this process involves sitting in front of a beautiful Christmas tree heaped with wrapped presents. I KNOW for a fact there is a diamond tennis bracelet in the pile of presents. By qualifying out the non tennis bracelet packages I bring myself closer to the goal... LOTS of diamonds! KNOW that there is a sale in the pile of prospects.Get the facts. Size them up, eliminate and move on.

A variation of a SWOT Analysis was developed by Peter Caputa of Hubspot is called GPCTBA/C&I (Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline, Budget, Authority, [Negative] Consequences and [Positive] Implications). This valuable and consultative method sets up the sales team to add value to their prospect’s decision-making.

Another method is called BART, Budget, Authority, Revenue and Timeframe. Your goal is to understand as much as you can about these four facets of your prospect’s project. Use your communications to answer those questions!

Skill Four

Actively Listen….

Active listening happens when salespeople listen and respond to their customers in ways that build trust and mutual understanding. This is the Holy Grail. You can’t fake empathy and interest. For active listening to occur, a salesperson must concentrate on and comprehend what the customer is saying, respond thoughtfully, and remember what has been said.

When a customer feels like a salesperson is actively listening, they will be more likely to buy because active listening builds rapport. Plus, active listening helps salespeople overcome barriers in the form of negative salesperson stereotypes, like being someone who talks more than he/she listens or someone who is only interested in meeting quota and making money.