Capify’s Dino Pacella’s piece this week looks into the art of listening and how it can relationships with broker partners.
With anything in life if you want to be better at something you must practice and the art of listening is no exception.
Listening, and yes I get how simple this must sound but so many people don’t work on this skill. It requires a tonne of practice to master and as all great BDMs know it’s a skill that goes a long way in helping form long trusting relationships with our broker partners.
A great listener is attentive. They make good eye contact; they never interrupt what the other person is saying and show a genuine interest in what is being said.
They are fully immersed in the moment without any distractions; don’t get lost by a TV in the room or by other people’s conversation nearby.
A great listener goes into each interaction with an open mind, without judgment or assumptions.
Here are a few tips that will help.
- Put your phone, tablet or laptop away and ensure they are on silent
- Pay attention and ask follow up questions
- Have good eye contact and positive body language
- Never interrupt
- Learn how to summarise key points and then offer solutions
Bonus Tip - To help grow new relationships and to assist in deepening existing ones, endeavour to pick up one piece of non-business related information during every interaction for future touchpoint use.
