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The following article was contributed by Ellis Jackson Jr

Active Listening Skills Improve Strategic Thinking

Are you listening to your customers? They could be telling you something that could improve your sales. Take the time to understand what is being told to you.

Strategic Thinking

Are your listening skills where they should be?

Do you just nod you head without giving any commentary of your own?

Chances are you are not participating in active listening.

That can cost you future sales down the road.

Strategic thinking first starts with how well you listen. See, I had a situation one time when I was at the auto repair shop. I heard a customer who was going on about how worried she would have been if her car had broken down in the middle of the road.

Active listening skills told the repair man to that he should leave a card with the customer with the name of a tow truck service that he uses so in case she does break down she will call the number and get future business. This is what strategic thinking is all about. Learning how to listen to your customer can help you anticipate your customers needs.

For good active listening skills you need to stop all non-relevant activity and focus on what the person is saying to you. You should be able to say back, in your own words, what he or she was saying to you. It is not necessary that you believe it or not just understand what was being said. Focus on the frame of mind of the speaker.

Are they serious or just talking out loud? You can't offer any service to them unless you know what is what.

So how many times a visitor talked to you without your strategic thinking cap on? Who knows how many leads you missed out on because your active listening skills were not up to par. If you had good strategic thinking skills you could have made all types of offers or recommendations that could have lead to a sale.

But all you did was give the usually "yes sir" or "that right" response as they spoke. You really didn't hear a word they said and that cost you. Once that customer leaves you will not get a second chance to get it right.

I bet the next time a customer speaks your strategic thinking will be apart of your active listening skills. You never know when the opportunity to gain an extra sale can come up. Listening to your visitors helps you figure out what your customers could be looking for.

Then you can make the proper chances to fill the customers needs.

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