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ans Serif">So you have set up that all important meeting with a prospective or existing client. Both their time and yours is precious so you want to gather as much information as you can at this meeting. This information will assist you in understanding their needs better, ensuring you can deliver what it is they want.

ans Serif">The objective of the meeting is for them to talk and you to listen!

ans Serif">Getting your customer or prospect to talk
To get them talking about their business in relation to your product or services, you will first need to understand the uses of open and closed questions:

ans Serif">Open ended questions are used during the bulk of the time you are with your client. Open ended questions:

• ans Serif">Solicit more than a "yes" or "no" or other one-word response
• ans Serif">Aim to get someone talking
• ans Serif">Are useful when you want general information
• ans Serif">Common lead-ins what, how and why

ans Serif">Perhaps three effective open ended questions you may like to consider when approaching a prospective client are:

ans Serif">What have you used previously?
What are you using now?
What do you think you will be needing in the future?

ans Serif">Towards the end of your meeting you will need to use closed questions either as a trial close or to close the meeting - with a result for you of course!

ans Serif">Closed questions:

• ans Serif">Solicit a "yes" or "no" or other one word response
• ans Serif">Aim to limit talking or to control direct conversation
• ans Serif">Are useful when you want specific information
• ans Serif">Common lead-ins are who, when, did, which, would, are, have, do, is, will and may.

ans Serif">I have found that we are all very good at asking those closed questions but aren't so practiced at asking open ended questions. Think about this before and during your next meeting!

ans Serif">Listening to your customer or prospect
Now for the listening part! As a customer, we have all been in situations where we have felt the sales person is not listening to us. In fact, I have even said on occasion "You're not listening to me!" Very frustrating. Conversely, we have also been in situations where we have not listened. Poor listening happens for a variety of reasons. Some of the barriers to listening are:

• ans Serif">Noisy workspace
• ans Serif">Visual distractions
• ans Serif">Tiredness
• ans Serif">Customer speaks too fast or has an accent
• ans Serif">Customer speaks too slowly or too much
• ans Serif">Communication is unclear, poorly organised or includes unfamiliar terms
• ans Serif">You pre-empt the communication - think you know what your customer is going to say
• ans Serif">Stress or mental illness
• ans Serif">Customer uses emotionally charged words or statements

ans Serif">Work to eliminate these barriers. To help eliminate misunderstanding and to ensure you have interpreted the customers needs correctly, use the following steps:

ans Serif">Step 1: Use a confirming statement
"So to summarise…."
"Let me make sure I understand…."
"I'd just like to confirm…"

ans Serif">Step 2: Summarise the key facts