Have you ever heard anyone say, ” I hate sales people”? When you ask why you might hear:                                                                                                                                      

1. They are too pushy!

2. They don’t care about me!

3. You can’t trust sales people!

4. They are just trying to make a commission off of me!

They will proceed to “sell” you on why they don’t like sales people. If they would only realize the irony of their ways. Well, that might be wishing for too much.

I recently spoke with the owner of a single restaurant and the Operations Director for a six unit concept and asked both of them what their biggest issue was in regards to their distributor and sales rep. They both gave similar answers. They both said they felt as if the rep and their companies were not listening to them.  They both felt that their concerns and needs were secondary to that of the sales rep. The Operations Director said that his rep was more concerned about showing him a flyer on a new item they were stocking than he was about the needs of his restaurant. Over the past year, he has given about 15 items to a different distributor and his rep has failed to ask about it once.

I now understand why people say “I hate sales people”. It seems that many of us have forgotten that listening to our customers and prospects is key to our success and the success of our employers. Listening is an active process. The fact is that if you listen long enough, people will usually tell you exactly what they want. The problem is many reps want to offer solutions before they know all the facts.

Listening is considered by many to be the most powerful sales skill a sales rep can possess. If you are not listening carefully, you might not hear your customer giving your business to your competitor.