Most people spend about 80 percent of their day in a passive listening mode. Background noises, extraneous sounds, and idle conversations are tuned out as we go about doing our daily routines.  When you walk into a room where background music is being played, you hear it but you don’t listen to it.  Then, someone asks, “What’s the title of that song?”  At that point you switch to active listening. You focus and concentrate on the song - and probably spend the next hour trying to recall the title.

Poor listening has resulted in lost business opportunities, wasted time and strained or even broken relationships.  In business today, listening to customers is essential to determine their needs and expectations.  But most businesspeople are stuck in the habit of passive listening.

Passive and Active Listening
What’s the major difference between passive and active listening? It’s moving beyond your perception of what customers want, to understanding each customer’s perception of your products, service and company.  That becomes a major task, especially when perceptions become mixed with old thinking, old habits and old methods of operation.

Mack Truck Company of Allentown, PA became an active listener to its customers.
After several years of Mack turning a deaf ear to customers and their needs, a series of meetings was set up with existing and former customers in different parts of the country.  These customer groups were asked to express their opinions regarding Mack’s trucks and service.  Many of the comments were not good.  Video cameras recorded their remarks.

Next, Mack took the taped segments to its dealers and salespeople in regional sales meetings.   A new “Yes We Can” theme was introduced to counter the negative “we can’t” corporate attitude that had been experienced by many customers.  The new corporate mindset and philosophy:  “The answer is yes, what’s your question.”

There are four key elements to active listening:

1. Nonverbal Attends - Facial expression and eye contact reveal one’s listening intent. A pleasant facial expression and direct eye contact convey interest, concern and care to the person speaking.  Squaring your body with the speaker, rather than turning away, also indicates openness to receive information.  A head nod is a listening signal.

2. Verbal Attends - These are simple acknowledgements to the speaker that you are listening.  Simple sounds (”ah huh,”  “hmmm,”  “I see”) indicate the message is being received.  Verbal acknowledgements are especially important in telephone conversations when the speaker cannot see your head nod.

3. Door-opener Questions - Questions that focus on “who,” “what,”  “where,”  “when,” and “how” solicit dialog and indicate your interest in the speaker’s comments.  When questions are asked, we naturally listen for the answers.  Door-opener questions produce information, show interest in the customer’s concerns, and make you a better listener.  Avoid “why” questions until absolutely necessary.  They can appear threatening or confrontational.

4. Paraphrasing - Research shows the concentrated attention span of humans is only about 30 to 45 seconds.  Our brains are processing words so much faster than they are being spoken that we start forming our responses long before a speaker finishes.  Paraphrasing or restating the speaker’s message from point to point helps to keep you focused and shows that you are listening.

Don’t get defensive when customers voice derogatory remarks.  Whether the comments are justified or not from your viewpoint, at the moment they are very appropriate from the customer’s perspective.  Such comments can be extremely unnerving if your corporate philosophy is to exceed the customer’s expectations and you are honestly trying to fulfill their needs.  Emotionally charged words or phrases can take control and cause you to go into orbit.  Active listening shuts down.

Recognize certain words or phrases that are apt to set you spinning, and then commit to conquering their affect on you.  Keep your emotions under control, listen to the customer, and use your skills to uncover the real cause of their anger.

Understanding perceptions is the primary key to building relations with customers.  To do that, you must actively listen.  Remember, money talks - you listen!

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