Sean Jackson: People don’t buy the product. They buy the idea that the product delivers.

 

Brad: That’s right.

 

Sean: And that is so important. So if you’re selling an idea, not a product but selling a true idea, then it really means that you have to stay tuned not only to those new people, but the people that have already bought off on the idea.

 

Brad: Yes.

 

Sean: Right? Because those are the people that are already invested in the idea. They want the idea to fulfill something in their life and the more that you can talk to those people, then they will not only help spread the word but they’re going to continue to repeat buy.

 

This is true no matter what market you deal with, B to B, B to C. Whatever acronym you want to come up with, that rule holds true no matter what.

 

Brad: People still buy from people.

 

Sean: They buy from people and they buy from people who care about them.

 

Brad: Yeah.

 

Robert: OK. So if you’re facing the challenges of “listen,” you’ve got a podcast Digital Entrepreneur.

 

Sean: Yes.

 

Robert: That you host weekly and we hear this discussed there and we hear also their marketers talking about the pressures of ROI and all. You give out great advice for how to handle that. So I encourage everybody to seize this.

 

Sean: Please!

 

Robert: Please, listen to my podcast.

 

Sean: Rainmaker.fm. It’s the Digital Entrepreneur.

 

Brad: Well, we’ve been talking about making a connection. We give ourselves –

 

Sean: That’s right.

 

Brad: We give ourselves

 

Sean: But I often think that that is the way that we can always grow is by learning more, right?

 

Robert: Right.

 

Sean: And understanding information and hearing from others that have been there, done that and now with the beauty of technology, we can share it via video, via audio, via whatever.

 

Brad: Yeah. It’s solutions, right?

 

Sean: Right.

 

Brad: You’re trying to fix a solution or sell a solution or connect with a solution or whatever it is. So –

 

Robert: Top three tips on listening, what do you do?

 

Sean: I think actively listen means that you’re not just nodding your head. You’re actively trying to understand what they said and that means that you’re putting a lot of your preconceived notions behind and not trying to fill up your head with, “What is going to be my response to what they just said?” It is, “I’m going to listen, taking a pause.”

 

The second key to listening is to also be thinking through the why. Go through the next level of whatever they say. Bring it out to them but never use the word “why”. “Why” is an accusatory term. What is it? How is it? Those are the ways that you can really get people to draw out.

 

The third way of actively listening – and it’s funny. It’s called “parrot back what they just said”. If you parrot back the last three words someone says, then they will expound even further.

 

Robert: Yeah.

 

Sean: And if you use a question at the end of those last three words, then of course they will repeat it and then expound upon it further. So I think when you look at active listening, combined with really what is the next layer of questions, combined with asking what they just said back to them, you will find they will give you much more and the irony being, they may actually convince themselves that you are so empathetic to what they have, what their needs are, that they want to only work with you.

 

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