The Four Types of Listeners

10537088_sAs an experienced sales person, you may believe that you have the art of listening down to a science; but you may be missing some vital information during your calls. Many of us believe that we are fully capable of multi-tasking while also taking a business call, but what I’ve learned from experience is that there are basically four types of listeners: scavengers, attention-challenged, literal, and empathetic. To help you understand each of these types of listeners and the qualities they possess, I have provided some helpful information.

  • Scavengers – These types of listeners are simply trying to pick up any scraps of information about what the client needs. Scavengers pick up less than 20% of the entire conversation and only listen for cues as to what they should say next. These listeners are not good at listening between the lines, meaning they will often miss information that could have been helpful to them. When you are this type of listener, you are showing the client that they are not worthy of your full attention.
  • Attention-Challenged – These listeners are not able to fully focus on the client. They have difficulty looking them in the eye, or their attention is constantly being distracted by everything else in the room. They can be busy themselves arranging paperwork or providing their clients with sales information that they lose focus and do not hear anything that the client has said. These are the types of listeners that clients tend to give up on the most; they dread having to deal with them and do not look forward to any type of interaction with an attention-challenged listener.
  • Literal – This type of listener will focus and listen on what the client has to say. They are not good at listening between the lines and tend not to look for clues as to what the client may not be sharing with them. These types of listeners may also rush the client through the conversations without fully allowing the client to express all of their needs. This can cause sales people to leave a lot of money on the table that could have added to their bottom line. Client who work with these types of sales people are often unsatisfied with their quality of work and often feel that their needs are not effectively being met.
  • Empathetic – These types of salespeople tend to be the most successful. They really listen to the needs of the client, develop a rapport, and gain the trust of their clients. They are seen as genuine and trustworthy because they care about what their clients have to say. A truly successful salesperson is one who is empathetic and genuine with their clients.