Telling is not selling, because the conversation only flows one way — from your lips into the other person’s ear and out the other. Telling fails to provide your customer with an opportunity to buy-in to the conversation.
Moreover, the salesperson hasn’t taken the time to acknowledge who the customer really is and what they need or really want, if anything at all. In essence, the salesperson is only communicating to the customer’s stated need, which is usually the tip of the iceberg.
You will never see who they really are until the customer trusts who you are. In the early stages of your relationship the customers doesn’t possess enough confidence in you to reveal too much about who they really are, so it’s up to you to help them. This is best achieved by engaging the customer in meaningful conversations and making what’s important to them important to you.
