Salespeople are often told to master 'three skills': seeing, listening, and playing. These have become catchphrases among salespeople, but not every salesperson knows exactly how to see, listen, and play. Based on years of practical experience, I have summarized the how, what, and why of listening, hoping to be of help to fellow sales professionals.

Listening is the second of the three skills and another direct way to gather information. Seeing is for information, and so is listening. What you see is surface information, while what you hear is hidden information. A salesperson must combine both types to obtain the most accurate information. Clearly, listening is equally important.

Who to listen to:

  • Listen to consumers (both existing and potential);
  • Listen to sales staff (ours and competitors');
  • Listen to distributors (all merchants in the distribution channel).

These three groups are the people we interact with directly and who are most familiar with our products. They usually like to say something about our products, and the information they provide is often the most useful. To get them to talk, salespeople need to guide them (how to guide is not detailed here) to speak their true thoughts.

What to listen for:

Listen to what consumers say:

  • Is the product price appropriate?
  • Is the packaging size appropriate?
  • Is the product convenient for consumers to purchase?
  • Are the product's performance and quality good?
  • How satisfied are they with after-sales service?
  • Is the product description clear?
  • What are their views on competing products?
  • Do they repurchase our products?
  • Do they recommend our products?
  • What suggestions or feedback do they have?

Listen to what sales staff say:

  • What is our daily sales revenue?
  • Is our product display (merchandising) good?
  • What is the word-of-mouth reputation of our products among consumers?
  • Do they recommend our products first?
  • Are they familiar with the products?
  • Is the product pricing competitive?
  • What promotions are competitors running?
  • What is the daily sales revenue of competitors?
  • Have they participated in our activities for sales staff?
  • Are they confident in our products?
  • What suggestions or feedback do they have for our work?

Listen to what distributors say:

  • Do they have confidence in the manufacturer and products?
  • Do they identify with the company's philosophy?
  • Do they agree with the company's market expansion plans?
  • Are they satisfied with the manufacturer's service?
  • Are they satisfied with their profit margins?
  • Are they satisfied with the product packaging?
  • Are they satisfied with product quality?
  • Are they satisfied with after-sales work?
  • What are their views on competitors?
  • What suggestions or feedback do they have?

From this information, we can obtain realistic data about our products, market, and services, and learn more about our competitors. We can determine whether our packaging is reasonable and how to improve it; whether our pricing is reasonable and how to adjust it; and whether our policies are reasonable and implemented in every marketing link. This valuable information will undoubtedly help us sell better and increase sales.

How to listen:

  • The best place to listen is at the point of sale.
  • Find reasons to talk with sales staff repeatedly, guiding them to share what you need to hear; listen to how they recommend products to consumers, whether they are familiar with our products, and whether they recommend ours first.
  • Approach consumers who have purchased our products and ask why they bought; approach consumers who bought competitors' products and ask why they chose those.
  • Go to the distributor's place of business to listen.

Many salespeople prefer to listen to distributors at dinners or other social settings, thinking this allows them to hear the merchant's true thoughts while building rapport. However, this is a mistake because at such times the merchant speaks with emotion; you hear either complaints or praise, not the truth. Listening at the distributor's place of business is better because it puts them in a more natural state. There, they speak factually, calmly, and objectively.

Of course, listening is not that simple. Besides the above, you need to learn to discern the authenticity and feasibility of what you hear. You must learn to speak skillfully, using your words to guide consumers, sales staff, and distributors to talk, then listen quietly while observing their expressions and body language. Come with questions, use techniques, and listen with your heart—then you will gain valuable information and win.

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