We tend to assume that whenever we talk, people will listen and absorb what we are saying. This is especially true in a professional setting. We naturally take it for granted that whenever we are explaining things professionally and in great detail, the listener is absorbing it all in.
Well, this assumption may be a fatal mistake in advancing the sale. How do we even know that the prospect has really understood the solution? How do we expect them to proceed with something which they have no clue about and are most probably hesitant to ask again for clarification? Without clarity of thought, there is no selling. No one is ever ready to spend money on things that does not make complete sense to them. Therefore, we must take a moment to think about this crucial phase in tech sales.
We must understand the following before ending the meeting:
- Is the client able to grasp as we speak?
- Are they able to focus and follow along the thought process so they see how the solutions are going to help them?
- Is confusion or boredom setting in because of inattention, or worse, improper communication?
We all have a system we use in our communication which is very intuitive and therefore not really focused upon. This system is called the “Listen-Grasp Model”
This is:
Listen
Grasp
Fit in
Check
Next!
Every step in this model is natural and very important to understanding the communication as a whole. Skipping even a step may lead to confusion. As basic as this may seem, in tech sales, we must be utterly conscious about the prospects being absolutely clear about what we are selling.
For example, we can take a simple phrase
“It is a clear sky, without a single rain cloud”
This sentence as we speak triggers these natural responses to the listener:
They can hear the words
Yes, they are able to hear the sound waves and since they understand the language, they can make sense of these soundwaves into words and make sense of their meaning.
They Grasp them
They then interpret the context and true meaning of those words and processes them to translate into categories. Ahh, the speaker is talking about the weather and jo chance of rain
They “Fit it In” with the knowledge they already possess
This phase makes the listener go beyond the lines and think that perhaps the speaker is trying to make small talk and start a conversation, or perhaps the speaker is horrifically wrong about the forecast and is trying to get a reaction.
They then perform a Consistency check
They then move on to thinking about the connection of the speakers words. If the listener already had information that it was going to be a rainy day, they check for the disconnect and discrepancies in the information
They “next” return to the listening mode again
After understanding the context and connection beyond the utterance of the statement, the listener is ready for the next statement and the whole cycle goes on for every part of the convo.
Everyone is doing this complex process all the time for every bit of information received but at different speeds. It is the only way to absorb data. Everything is fine until the topic of discussion becomes complex and the listeners knowledge is incomplete or even incorrect. Complications always arise when new topics or different complex ideas are discussed together, then the mind suddenly brings a wall or a filter.
It is known as a wall of disinterest.
For example, if the listener heard the speaker say, “it is a clear sky with a chance of kittens” their consciousness shakes up and the natural thought process slows down or maybe completely stop to ponder about this statement. They most naturally assume that they have either heard incorrectly or perhaps that the speaker was trying to be funny. They go back to ponder about steps 3 and 4 and perhaps do not follow along with the next couple of sentences at the same speed as the speaker.
Now, if we put this into perspective as a sales call, it can be a cause for concern as the prospect then gets disengaged at the complex idea. The moment that they have taken to organize their mind around this complex new notion, may make them miss out on other crucial information as we speak.
It is therefore always important to keep the ideas simple and have a mechanism to validate if the message has been recieved at the other end. There are multiple ways this can be achieved:
Plain checking: Find out from your prospect if there is something that’s unclear from what you have just spoken about
Examples: If you find that you are receving uncertain glances from the opposite end, it might be a good idea to illustrate another example of what you are stating. This can be done with another case study, reference or story point.
Mails: Once you are meeting is done, it’s a good idea to send Minutes of the Meeting (MOM) to the prospect. Give a summary on top of your mail, which can stand in good stead if the prospect is in a hurry and doesn’t have time to go through entire mail.
Ask for validation: This can be a very good way to ascertain if your prospect has understood you. By asking for something similar in their line of work, will put them in a situation where they will either give you a problem that resonates with your stated example, or in case of them stating in the negative will give you a sense of why it isn’t relative in their siutation.
