Why Soft Skills in Selling Matter in the First Meeting

Which of these approaches demonstrates a skillful approach to a sales conversation? We certainly hope that you chose the second. That is just one example, but a salesperson’s ability to deftly open a meeting, ask enough great questions, and really listen are examples of the importance of soft skills in sales. These are difficult skills to learn from a handbook. Soft skills in selling come from watching, practicing, and gaining comfort in the approach.

Since the most important soft skill for us to learn in selling is mastering not just great questions but timely and explorative questions, let’s explore that a bit.

• How do we get information from other people? We ask questions, right?

• When you ask a question, what kind of question do you ask? Are they technical in nature or for gathering data?

• Are your questions framed for yes or no answers?

• Do your questions really probe and make people think?

• Are your questions focused on the prospect’s core business issues or problems, or are they about your products?

• Do your questions sometimes surprise the prospect, perhaps make them a bit uncomfortable, and do they bring out the real issues?

What about after you ask those questions? This is when real soft skills in selling present themselves. How well do you listen? I mean, really listen. How often can you repeat what someone is saying to you? How often do you take a keyword in their answer and use that to phrase your next question? Typically, two things are going on in most sales conversations. Bankers or producers are hearing and not listening. Secondly, they are listening to themselves instead of their prospect and are formulating their response.

Salespeople should try this the next time they are in a conversation with a prospect and ask them a question. Really focus on listening and repeat what the prospect just said by repeating it and asking for confirmation. This is a great way to get the prospect to repeat what they said and to ensure the salesperson is not focused on listening to their internal talk. Sometimes, in the repeating, the prospect will provide additional context to the issue.

The Power of Asking the Right Question

Sometimes a salesperson will not ask a certain question because they do not want to disqualify a prospect. Be truthful, hasn’t this happened to you or your salespeople? By mastering the soft skills of asking questions, salespeople become more courageous as they get more comfortable ‘drilling down’ in their conversations. This will help them become better at qualifying their prospects and cleaning non-qualified prospects out of the sales pipeline. And that gives them more time for prospecting, the number one job for all financial services salespeople.

Here are some suggestions on helping salespeople become more skillful with their soft skills in selling:

• Role-play with them and help them to stay in the moment – they should not be thinking about what products they can sell. They need to listen and probe with good, interested questions.

• When they find an area of concern, they should uncover compelling reasons to buy – ask a question like “Why is this home equity loan important to you?” And…

• They must really listen to the answer and ask more questions about that issue so they have more information and understanding.

• This approach will build trust – the client’s needs are front and center, and it is clear the banker or agent wants to help them.

• The salesperson must be able to ask tough questions, and that takes courage. If the end goal is always to help the client, asking a question like “Do you have other deposit accounts elsewhere that we could help you with?” should not be that hard. But it may take practice!

• Good salespeople take nothing for granted – meaning they always seek clarity, and that means getting their client to talk.

• They must have an appropriate amount of patience. Again, if the salesperson’s focus is on their prospect, they should not need to push. It is more important that through their questions and discussion, the client comes to their own decision on their actions.

Soft skills in selling are what turn a routine conversation into a meaningful sales discussion. While product knowledge and technical expertise are important, they are rarely what determine success in the first meeting. The ability to ask thoughtful questions, listen carefully, and truly understand a prospect’s situation builds trust and uncovers the real reasons someone might want to make a change. When salespeople focus on developing these soft skills in selling, they not only improve their conversations but also create stronger relationships and better long-term results.

Register for our upcoming live webinar on Monday to learn why top lenders drive up to 10x more revenue than bottom performers and uncover the four qualities that define diamond-level relationship managers! You’ll gain practical insights on developing stronger producers and access a free tool to benchmark your team’s relationship-building skills. Free registration, recording provided.

Ready to develop stronger relationship-building skills across your sales team? Download our free eBook The Relationship Selling Guide for proven strategies and frameworks, or contact Anthony Cole Training Group to learn how our assessments and coaching can transform your team's ability to build rapport and close more business.