Chapter 4: Communication Skills

Communication Skills for ADAPT/SPIN

• effective listening

• effective verbal communication (Ask questions)

• effective nonverbal communication

Effective Listening

• Types: Social & Serious

• monitoring nonverbals

• making no assumptions

• paying attention

• visualizing

• encouraging the buyer to talk

• paraphrasing & repeating

Effective Verbal Communication

• statements of fact, opinion, & attitude encoded in the form of words, pictures, & #’s to convey meaning to a receiver

Effective Non-Verbal Communication

• Facial expressions & eye movements

• Placement & movements of hands, arms, head & legs

• Body posture & orientation

• Proxemics:

  • variation in voice characteristics

  • speaking rate, pause duration, pitch/frequency, & intensity & loudness

  • nonverbal clusters

Social Listening

informal mode of listening associated w/day-to-day conversation & entertainment

serious listening

involved sorting, interpreting, understanding, & responding to received messages

Keys to Effective Listening

• Find areas of interest

• Judge content, not delivery

• Listen for ideas. Be flexible

• Work at listening

• Exercise the mind

• Keep an open mind. Capitalize on the fact that thought is faster than speech.

Impact of Poor Grammar

• meaning credibility of the message is downgraded

  • receiver begins to focus on the sender rather than the message

Impact of Presenting Information not sequenced logically?

• Provide clarity & assists the receiver in following the facts. If not followed, the presentation will be inefficient & ineffective

• Receiver will have to ask many questions to gain clarification.

• Received may dismiss sender as incompetent

Open-End Question

• allows free customer response

• How you feel about…?

• If things could be better, what would you want from a supplier?

Close-End Question

• limits customer’s response to 1 or 2 words

• How often does that problem happen

Dichotomous

• customer selects from 2 or more options

  • How often does that problem happen?

4 Types of Questions

1) Probing

2) Evaluative

3) Tactical

4) Reactive

Probing Question

• elicit more articulate & precise responses from the customer

  • Can you share an example of that?

Evaluative Question

• uses open-end & close-end question formats to discover attitudes, opinions & preferences that the prospect holds

  • (How do you feel about that?)

Tactical Question

• used to shift the topic when the conversation goes off course

• (Earlier you mentioned that…)

Reactive Question

• question based on the information provided previously by the other party

• (Can you give an example of what you mean?)

When are check-backs commonly used?

• questions salespeople use throughout sales dialogue to generate feedback from the buyer

• commonly used to confirm benefits & assess buyer’s level of interest & evaluate the level to which the salesperson has handled a buyer’s objection

Proxemics

• variation in voice characteristics

• speaking rate & pause duration, pitch/frequency, intensity, & loudness

SPIN

• Situation

• Problem

• Implication (Consequences of a problem)

• Need-Payoff (focus on solution)

Purpose of ADAPT

logic-based funneling sequence of questions that identifies & assesses the buyer’s situation

ADAPT

• Assessment

• Discovery

• Activation

• Projection

• Transition

Assessment

salesperson only focuses on obtaining/confirming fundamental facts

Discovery

• customer should reveal needs/problems (Needs Gap).

• ALWAYS begin w/an open question

Activation

needs/problems were successfully discovered. Ask the customer to describe what it’s like when problems occur or when the needs aren’t met

Projection

needs/problems were successfully activated. salesperson asks how much better things would be w/o the problems. or if needs were fulfillled

transition

smoothing the shift to the salesperson’s presentation of product benefits.

• ask a “tie down” conforms interest in solving the problems

• restate the needs to confirm your understanding of them & the customer’s needs

• follow “Tie Down“ w/the transition question, you must be polite

• Ask permission to show the product