Listening Between the Lines

If you're trying to sell something--an idea, a product or a service--you need to gauge the explicit and implicit needs of the person you are pitching.

For example, we all have the experience of buying clothes. That is a product that is a necessity in our society. Clothes protect us from the elements and preserve our modesty. That's the explicit need. But clothes can also make a statement about us. They may suggest power, sexiness, informality, tradition, grunge vs. preppy, etc. Those are implicit values.

Recently, I worked with a client who is trying to sell high end financial instruments to prospects. In a role playing situation between my client and someone portraing the customer, it became obvioius that, yes the prospect was indeed looking for a sound company to manage her families fortune(explict). But after asking several well thought out questions, it became equally clear that the prospect was also looking for some one who would come up with solutions that would unite a sharply divided family. Under additional questioning, the prospective customer allowed that she felt insecure about handling money and needed to work with some one who could give her extra attention and explain the various complexities of the financial world (implicit).

The key was asking her the right questions, paying attention to the answers and making her feel that she was heard and understood. It means listening between the lines.

When a prospect senses that feeling of empathy, trust can begin and a relationship and ensue.