Here's a way to DOUBLE YOUR NETWORK in less than 6 months !!

Learn to LISTEN.

When you develop your listening skills you will find your conversations become more meaningful, you will interrupt less and you will earn the rewards of finding out more about your prospects for future reference. Being able to identify which of the many Sportron benefits suit your prospect best makes for simple and effective enrolment of that prospect. If we listen to our prospects instead of talking all the time they will tell us what they want, tell us what their needs are and they will usually tell us how to share with them our products, services or opportunity. The only time we do not make mistakes in selling is when we are not talking. We have two ears and one mouth and we must try and use them in that proportion. I am sure we have all experienced the situation where people seem to say the same things in response to our questions and I know we have all been guilty of simply waiting to speak instead of actively listening to what the other person was saying.

Use the LISTEN formula to keep your conversations under control.

L - Look interested - Look at the other party. Make encouraging noises and give pertinent answers. Respond with 'Yes', "Uh' , 'I see' etc. ... let people know you are listening. Keep eye contact. If you have difficulty looking in peoples eyes directly, simply look at their foreheads.

I - Inquire - Ask questions - preferably open questions that need more of an answer than a simple "yes" or "no". The more you ask the more information you can get about your prospects needs. The gathering of information must be one of the first things we do when engaging in a sales conversation. How can we sell somebody something unless we've found out their needs and desires?

S - Stay on target - keep to the topic. You may find you get off the subject with your questions. Look for an opening to get back on track as soon as possible. A discussion about the weather is going to do you no good at all

T - Test understanding - people hear what they want to hear, so clarify as often as you can. Ask if you are right in your own understanding of the situation by paraphrasing what has been said. So often we say 'Yes' when in reality we didn't understand what was being said and that 'Yes' is caught out later. Prospects are delighted to explain in greater detail any information they have provided. Don't say 'Yes' if you mean 'No'.

E - Evaluate the message - watch the other person carefully and judge whether they are saying what they really feel. Watch body language .. both yours and theirs. We need to be particularly observant of negative and positive body language signals.

N - Neutralise your feelings - don't over-react to what the other person says or you will stop listening and lose control of the conversation. Let the other person have their say and remember, this is not about you personally, it is about their needs and how they may relate to your products, services or opportunity.

Brian Murray, International Vice President Sales