How to sell without ‘happy ears’
Many organizations have the ailment “Happy Ears,” and it’s often located within the sales department. Happy Ears is a common sales-related challenge that impacts both salespeople, yet is even more damaging to sales managers.
You come down with a case of happy ears when you hear what you want to hear and not what you should have heard. So what was heard and often acted upon does not reflect what was actually said, or the other person’s true intentions.
For example, a salesperson meets with a prospect and is told something like: “This is very interesting,” or “Looks good,” or “I am sure we’ll be able to do business together.”
The salesperson races back to the office and tells his boss, “Hey, I’ve got one. They loved what I showed. They are really, really interested and want to work with us!” And it’s placed in the pipeline with a high probability for success. Then days turn into weeks, and weeks into months before that opportunity that was perceived to be on the brink of closing gathers dust and never turns into business.
What happened?
The salesperson heard something that was not there. It wasn’t done on purpose, because happy ears is something that happens in the subconscious. We don't consciously decide to sabotage our own success by getting Happy Ears. So, what can we do?
We often remind clients to remember four critical things during sales calls: Be very inquisitive, be extremely skeptical, get to the truth as quickly as possible, and never be emotionally tied to the end result. These are all much easier said than done, of course.
It can be even more damaging to an organization if the sales manager has happy ears. It’s contagious and can quickly become an epidemic within sales organizations. So if the manager isn't careful, he can spread the problem.
If a salesperson has happy ears and it spreads to a manager, that can lead to false sales projections, inaccurate business planning and bad cash-flow management.
If a manager has happy ears and it spreads to his sales team, that can lead to ineffective selling behaviors, promotion of bad habits, wasted time and a drop in sales.
What’s the cure?
Be skeptical, yet nurturing.
So if a prospect says, “This is very interesting, and I am sure we’ll be able to do business together.” You respond: “I appreciate your kind words. When you say ‘am sure we’ll be able,’ ” what exactly do you mean?” This will show the difference between nice platitudes and an actual sale. Never presume that the signals are positive. Be skeptical in nurturing way. And always verify.
If this is something that happens all too frequently in your organization, it's time to make changes. Once you’re aware of the problem, you can determine what methods can promote nurturing skepticism, being inquisitive, not being emotionally tied to the end result and getting to the truth as quickly as possible, even if it’s a no. Then work on it until it becomes a habit.
Michael Flippin is vice president at Sandler Training, in Framingham. Contact him at mflippin@sandler.com.
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