Reminds me of my old radio (daze) days. And never interview a kid or an animal. :) :)

We have a very self absorbed family member, she always finds a way to turn the attention back to herself - tells these long and uninteresting tales about, yes, "herself."  I honestly run away when she trys to corner me.

Listening is the most important part of communication - and most people love to talk (about themselves). It's a win/win. LOL.  Good one Gayle girl.

Gayle the salesman's own tastes might concur with your husbands but truly are irrelevant. Maybe he thought there was some comfort level in the possible similar taste. MAN bonding??? ha ha. Listen always more than talk. Right you are.... ask questions...

Gayle, don't you love real estate. I do...cuz it allows us to use all those wonderful skills we have learned in life. I don't know a more well-rounded profession. You have to have it all....to do well. Excellent post and those 5 Ws are so key in how we help our clients. You are so "rockin"! It is fun to dance and I love how our profession allows us to do that and to celebrate those values in good business practices. Have a beautiful evening. I sure did enjoy this post! You are so good!

When I first started in real estate I was very sensitive to homes that had traffic noise because I don't like traffic noise.  It didn't take long to realize that many of the clients didn't have the same issues.  I've never forced my opinions and have always tried hard to be a good listener.

Gayle,  Richard Yates hit on this subject today, too, using a very different tact.    

A skilled questioner adds many tools to her arsenal!

Asking questions effectively is a method of communication that can be used to persuade, gather information, manage situations, or impart information about ourselves. 

Paisley anyone?  ;-)

Brian

Gayle, this is so true! I learned early on that what I like in a house might not be what my client likes. If I think the closet is small, it might be huge to them....so I keep quiet! Listening is way more important than talking!

So true, Gayle - a great reminder that we can only provide a service to our clients if we take the time to listen to their needs. I can tell from your posts that your clients are definitely being well-served! :-)

Hi, Gayle (i.e. Active Rain's 'earth tone loving read head)... wonderful pointers.  I have bookmarked as a reminder.

have a wonderful weekend, Eric

Once again Gayle, your post is an excellent one! Listening is SO important. You and hubby were put off by it..so gotta figure many others are as well. Hitting the S button :)

A wise old owl sat on an oak.

The more he saw the less he spoke.

The less he spoke the more he heard.

Why can't we be like that wise old bird?

But lookie here, big ears have to help!

Thanks for the refresher on handling clients. Listening to your client and trying to anticipate their needs is so important nowadays. They want to be heard and understood to have their demands met. Good read.

Excellent post!  This business is about how well we can listen to our clients and what they need.  How is this not featured yet?  Great stuff!!  

Great post my friend.  The more listening we do, the more we understand our client's needs and the better we can serve them.  Great advice to all of us.

So true Gayle!  I can just imagine the salesguy...so annoying.  As grandma used to say "If speaking is silver, then listening is gold".  Suggested.

Gayle .....great point!  I always try and leave the "I"'s out ....thanks for the reminder!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Excellent point Gayle - you don't learn when your speaking and when you let your client talk, you learn what they like, what they are looking for and how we can help them...............and isn't that the point?! Rather then ramble on, it's much better to find out what your client wants and once you understand, then you can tell them why a home would be suitable for them.

I apply the same strategy to staging - I'm on a fact finding mission and my job is to listen and answer their questions, not ramble on about myself or why they should chose me to stage their home!

Gayle,

There's so much truth in what you have to say! I find that people who care more about impressing you based upon the things they have are quite boring. I don't even want to hear them and I get away or tune them out as quickly as I can.

It makes you wonder how the salesman passed his training and managed to keep his job. Something tells me, he'll be looking for a new job soon.

SUGGEST! We can all learn a lot from you!

Patricia

Gayle - amazing how many people don't get the fact that we were given two ears and one mouth for a reason ..... we should listen twice as much as we talk.

Gayle,

One of my favorite sayings: 'Why did God give us two ears and one mouth? So that we can listen twice as much as we speak."