During his 30+ years as a sales rep and sales manager, Binney & Smith director of special markets Richard Esther says he’s worked very hard to become an effective listener. Many of his colleagues in the sales profession could stand to improve their listening skills as well, he notes.

“Salespeople by their nature are very good presenters and talkers,” Esther says. “One of the traps we fall into is that we know what we want to say, and we know what it is we want to come next, and so when the buyer interrupts us by speaking we hear it but we don’t listen to it. We’re too busy thinking about the points we want to make and what we want to say next to listen.”

The first step to becoming what Esther calls an “active and engaged listener” involves recognizing the difference between “hearing” and “listening.”

“Hearing is just the physical act of sound going in your ears and the brain registering it,” he says. “Living near an airport you might hear airplane noises all day, but you quickly learn to tune them out. You don’t listen to them. Listening, on the other hand, is an intentional act, and implies comprehension. If you are truly listening, attentive, tuned in, you are going to comprehend what is being said.”

Following are nine more tips Esther suggests to help sales professionals to become active and engaged listeners:

1. Learn to listen fully when others speak. This is called active listening, and requires concentration and effort.
2. Maintain eye contact with customers while they are speaking. 3. Sit up straight.
4. Take notes, whenever necessary. Jot down brief notes to remind you to bring up a topic the customer mentions. Try not to keep your head buried in a notebook, though.
5. Don’t be afraid of silence. Silence is not bad. Sometimes it means the other person is refocusing. Train yourself to remain silent for 30 seconds and the customer may come out with something you otherwise would not have heard.
6. Give verbal and nonverbal encouragement. Nod your head, saying, “uh-huh,” “I see”, “really,” etc.
7. Rephrase ideas, suggestions and objections. Say things like, “You were saying…” “I believe you said...” etc.
8. Don’t filter your listening. Be open even to things you don’t want to hear.
9. Watch body language. Learn to pick up on when customers’ body language doesn’t match what they are saying.