The Lost Art of Listening and Follow Up

How many people do you encounter, while having a conversation, that are just thinking about what they want to say next? We are all guilty of this scenario and it takes discipline to be a good listener. I remember when I first got into sales and calling on business customers and it was all I could do to refrain from interrupting my clients so I could blurt out what I wanted to say next. The old adage about two ears and one mouth and all transmit and no receive are words to live by. Good listeners that are interested and not trying to be interesting, are going to have a better time with their inter-personal relationships. Bad listening skills reverberate through-out your personality and your conversations. Just look at all the journalists on TV, everyone is interrupting each other constantly. Eventually it is too aggravating and you have to change the channel. Show genuine interest in what others have to say and that concept will open up doors for learning. It’s hard to learn anything when you are talking all the time. Listen and listen between the lines and the message will come across loud and clear.

On to the next subject: Follow Up

Another subject of conce
is how to follow up. So many people today do not return phone calls or follow up on action items. Is it because people are disorganized or they just don’t care? Forget about those that don’t care. How do you get organized for follow up? You must produce a constant list of action items written down, call it what you want, but a prioritized list is essential for time management and follow up. Sit down and write them down, take your voice mails and write the actions required down, drill down on your sales pipeline, etc. Put your thoughts on paper and you’ll turn the corner immediately on time management and follow up. Whether your disorganized or you don’t care, the perception of you will be the same if you don’t follow up.

Listen and follow up, and by the way; be on time and use spel cehck!