What I'm hearing is…
I shadowed an impressive pitch yesterday with one of my sellers. She leveraged a simple phrase that was productive and empathetic. Let’s dive in.
When faced with (1) a customer explaining their organizational + personal goals and (2) client objections, she replied with “This makes sense— so what I’m hearing is… [recap in her own words].” Here’s what this accomplished:
Active Listening and Validation: It demonstrated that this seller was actively listening to the client and was trying to understand their needs and concerns. This makes customers feel heard and valued, building rapport and trust.
Clarification and Confirmation: It helped ensure that she correctly understood the customer’s message. By summarizing or paraphrasing their points, she gave them the opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings or provide further details. Nothing gets people talking like feeling they’ve had words put in their mouths.
Objection Handling: It allowed her to reframe objections or concerns in a way that addresses the underlying issue. By acknowledging your client’s perspective, you can find common ground then move towards a solution.
Building Consensus: It created a collaborative atmosphere and encouraged the client to participate in the solution-finding process. By working together to understand the problem, you can build a sense of shared ownership and increase the likelihood of closing the deal.
Controlling the Conversation: More on the above, it helped her steer the conversation in a productive direction. By summarizing key points in her own voice (and subtly incorporating her own agenda) she guided the client towards a positive outcome. Be careful here to not be like Dwight and try to completely redirect the conversation to something self-interested.
Example:
Prospect: "I'm not sure this product has the features we need."
Salesperson: "OK— What I'm hearing is that you're looking for specific features that are essential to your workflow. Can you tell me more about what those are?"
By saying "What I'm hearing is..." at the appropriate moments, you’re being a sensemaker during complex or convoluted brainstorming & alignment sessions. You’ve also got a tool to respond to client concerns and open the door for a more detailed discussion about their needs, which paves the way for you to demonstrate how your offering can meet those needs. Nice.
Try it out in your next customer recap/objection moment. I’d limit this to once or twice max per call to not feel robotic.
According to data from Thinkific, a massive 89% of B2B buyers are more likely to make a purchase when they feel understood by sellers, highlighting the importance of demonstrating comprehension of customer needs in B2B sales interactions.