Client connection skills start with listening
To practice client connection skills, first notice habits that interrupt a conversation:
1. We interrupt.
2. We don’t listen.
3. We are quick to tell our solutions – to fix it.
4. We ask more than one question at a time.
5. We ask a question and then answer it too.
6. We tell our story instead of listening to theirs.
7. We are not present.
8. We keep talking when the other person needs time to respond.
A focused conversation gives both people room to explain what matters. Listening and following through can help a professional relationship develop over time. For questions that help a customer explain their needs, see our guide to sales probing questions.
Stay present during the conversation
1. We multi-task.
2. We read our smart phones during a conversation.
3. We tap away on our computers while talking on the phone.
4. We talk or text on our cell phones during lunch with someone else.
Ask yourself how you might not be connecting with those you meet for the first time and with those you
already know.