In 2016, Gong set out to understand what sets the top-performing sales reps apart from other sales reps. For that they analyzed the data of 25,000 B2B sales conversations using AI. What they’ve found?
They found that the Top Sales Reps listened 26 percentage points more than the Bottom Sales Reps. The Top Reps talked on average 46% and listened 54%, while the Bottom Reps talked 72% and listening 28%.
Fascinating, right?
So, there is a correlation between how successful you are in sales and your ability to listen.
Listening helps you build trust, improve problem solving, and defuse any objections. It also just makes you a much more enjoyable person to be around.
But why does it matter for the stories you tell?
Because before telling any story, you need to have a great understanding of what’s going on in your clients’ business, what they’re struggling with, and what they’d like to accomplish in the future. It’s not enough to understand that your buyer wants ‘make more money’ or ‘be promoted’.
No, it’s about getting to the root of what your buyer wants in life such as ‘I want to have enough money to send my kid to an ivy league school, ‘I want my former classmates to look up to me’, or ‘I want to coach and mentor a team.’
You want to uncover what truly matters to your buyer.
Once you know that, you can select a story that is relevant them. A story about another customer that experienced similar struggles. You can use the information gathered through empathic listening to tailor your story.
Here are fives techniques that help you become a much better listener: