Okay, here we are in your first chapter of the five main skills of top sales reps training. These are the lessons of this topic. First one, it's about them. second lesson, who's your interlocutor? third lesson, listen. And fourth lesson, don't rush, empathy.

The definition that I found in Wikipedia about empathy is this. The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. What's the link with this and with sales, that in sales you need to think of the person in front of you. It's about them, not yourself. It's not about your product. It's not about how good it is how cheap it is, or whatsoever.

It's not about your targets. It's not About your desperate need to close a contract. It's about them. It's about your customer. It's about how can you bring a solution to their problem? How can you improve their costs?

How can you improve their processes? How can you become a real reliable supplier? How can you become a partner? And that's not something that you impose. It's not something that you go there. And and because you are so cheap that they will have to do it.

Customers don't work that way, at least on the long run. So it's about them. So whenever you go to a customer and of course you need to have in mind you need to prepare and you need to have in mind, what are your objectives? What do you want to get out of this meeting and what's coming anticipate yes that's perfectly fine. But don't stick to your little world. They have a world of their own.

Find it out. Ask ask again. If you didn't understood, insist. show real interest. It's about them, not yourself. In the end, it's bridging your interests and their needs and once that you will succeed but if you only think for yourself if you only think for your needs will fail.

Okay. This is the first point is about them. Second point is, try to find out who's your interlocutor To Whom are you talking to? It's a person like you, he has problems like you, he has targets like you. He has a very challenging boss like you. What drives this person try to understand him try to to create some some bounds, try to find out what are his hobbies, his interests?

Try to find out his career ambitions. Because all of these is information that's will be very useful for you by one hand to understand what drives in life. What is he looking for? And by other hands create topics of discussion. To show that you really care about his life. So don't try just to, to show off into a very, very cheerful but on a very lightweight, try to instead to have real serious conversations aside the business.

To be very honest. Most of my meetings a big part of the time is spent talking about everything in anything. Sometimes the serious business discussions are just about, let's say 25% of the time, all the rest. It's related to more personal or business life in general, but always showing real interest in people. Okay, Listening is one of the most important attributes in a salesperson. You might think that a sales guy is a big mouth is a big talker is guys that that sells everything and anything, forget it.

That's not about it every good sales rep. Whenever he goes to a meeting, he knows very well that the ratio should be let customer talk 70% of the time and He will speak 30% of the time. And why is that? several reasons when the customer talks. He gives you information. He gives you information about competition about the market about where the company is going about what is he struggling right now.

This up pushes information market intelligence You can share afterwards with your colleagues and with your sales director. And the other hand, you show real interesting people by being attentive, and by asking actively, do you mean this? So when you say that you think that's because if you just nod and say, huh, or you interrupt him every now and then and it's, that's not active listening, you're just reading a script. The customer is talking about, you're not getting anything they says, Are you just filtered information, pair your own script, and you miss most of the important stuff. Because you're focused on your agenda, and you're not listening to the small details that he sends along. Listen, listen carefully.

And don't pretend that you know already everything at the trails. Okay. Remember, you talk 30% of the time they talk 70% of the time. And that's not a sign of weakness that taught the sign that that you are giving away the meeting. It's the opposite. But when you talk, talk about things that matter.

Talk about things. That's interesting. Don't say, don't just feel the gap of Silence. Silence is a very good tool in terms of negotiation. Actually, because some when when there's when there's a discussion, and suddenly there's silence in between people feel uncomfortable. Let them feel like a flow, because then they will start talking again.

You don't have to. You don't have to. Okay. Next point is don't rush very often. We rush to our agendas, we rush to our points we have these agenda we have this, this this. So this is what I will tell him this is what I will need this will get, don't rush, don't rush.

They have their own agenda. They have their own timings. They have their own cycles. know them, try them out, understand them. And let them talk, let them talk. Let them talk.

Gather information. Confirm suspicious of these so that that's our assumption wrong assumptions. clarify your vision of the customer. Don't rush. If they put you against the wall and then it isn't is it? challenge them?

Why? What's the backgrounds? What's that for? And for yourself. Don't feel as secure Because when you rush, you feel insecure, and you drop your God, I will be aspects that you will forget. And in the end you will see damage.

Why is I left money on the table? or Why did I lose the contract, you lost the contract because you didn't listen attentively, because you wanted to go too fast, because it was different from this buying cycle from the customer. Don't rush, slow down. So here's a wrap up of the situation. And, again, as I told you in previous in the previous chapter, take notes, take notes, and if possible, watch yourself, observe yourself whenever you are in any discussion. It doesn't mean that you have to do it on a business scenario.

You can do it even on your personal life, or with your colleagues or your friends of service self themselves. All good how you listening? Our real interest how you showing by their activities or what they're saying how many times you jump in a conversation interrupting somebody talking the assertive, he called bring along an image of somebody that is reliable patient, good listener and that is not rushing in towards their own goal, but trying to find out how you can best help them and solve them problem or improve their processes or getting their own systems optimized. So empathy is all about this is all about about putting yourself on the shoes of the other people forgetting that you are the center of the world actually, even if you can become if you can become their main supplier, you can establish, but do it on a very natural way.

Don't impose it. That's why it's important that you practice this with your surroundings with your family, friends or colleagues. The active listening is showing real interest. I have a good example I had. I have the managers ditch in the office used to pass by and say Hey, how's it going? but it kept them going, not even stopping to see how I was responding.

That's a completely template performer ticking the box. It's done. If you want to ask somebody, how's it going? Stop and ask him Hey, how's it going? Look into the eye. look people in the eye.

Okay, so, read all these points. I hope that they resonate with you because they are important to build up those foundations as a sales rep. Okay, thanks. See you soon in the next chapter.