Prolong Sales Meetings with Holistic Listening

Does a longer sales appointment raise the possibility of a satisfied client? Researchers at University of Texas-Arlington, University of Chile, and Universidad del Desarrollo say the answer depends on how the salesperson spends the appointment time. The answer is yes if the salesperson engages in “active empathic listening.” (AEL).
     AEL refers to the salesperson responding to the client’s words and nonverbal messages holistically, integrating them for an understanding of the beliefs, feelings, and intentions of the client. The researchers measured salesperson self-rated AEL using questionnaire items, “I listen for more than just the spoken words,” “I ask questions that show my understanding of my customer’s position,” “I show my customers that I am listening by my body language (e.g. head nods),” and, “I sense why my customers feel the way they do.”
     Doing this takes time. When it was carried out, the client rated the service as being of higher quality than otherwise. This held true even if the client didn’t like the salesperson. The additional time investment required for AEL accounts for why the longer sales appointment raised the possibility of client satisfaction.
     There are other possible reasons for a prolonged appointment. Salesperson perseverance, for instance. The salesperson survey item with the most significance in measuring this was, “If the customer is about to refuse my offer, I ask why, counter their arguments, and make a new proposition.” Such perseverance lowered satisfaction, even if the client did consummate the transaction. Here, prolonging the sales appointment was worse than wasteful. It lowered the probability of the prospect doing future business or recommending the firm to others.
     There was an important exception to the destructive effects of salesperson perseverance, It occurred when the client reported to the researchers that they’d liked the salesperson from the very start. Perhaps this was because the salesperson had previously engaged in AEL.
     The research was conducted with investment advisors and their clients. Other studies have shown the value of empathy and related salesperson behavior in a range of settings. Attentiveness, friendliness, and empathy toward services customers influence customer satisfaction to a greater extent than do service outcome factors, such how well the clothes dryer works after being repaired, if the vacation met expectations, and the extent of financial returns on investments.
     Customers will be less dissatisfied and less likely to blame the service provider for any problem when the service provider demonstrated they care.

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