Five ways to become a better listener

These tips will help you improve your listening skills and improve the way you communicate with your clients:

1. Keep an open mind
Clear your head of any judgments you may have made about the client — such as their appearance or background — to ensure you’re listening to them and not to yourself.

“You have to be fully available to listening to them,” Pullen says, “and not some other story in your own mind about them.”

Even if your views on certain issues differ from those of the client, you can still have an effective business relationship with them. Listening will increase the likelihood of your finding common ground, Pullen says. For example, regardless of your worldviews, you and your client could agree on a way to manage the client’s assets to help them achieve their long-term financial goals — if that is an objective of the interview.

2. Look for purpose
Take the time to find out what clients really mean when referring to ambitions or goals, rather than rushing to plug in the numbers.

Pullen refers to this tactic as “listening for purpose.” It is a skill that can build a stronger rapport and level of trust with your clients.

For example, if a client expresses an interest in buying a vacation home, some advisors would simply begin entering numbers to see if it’s financially feasible, says Pullen. But by asking more questions you can get a sense of the underlying values that are motivating the client to make this purchase — such as a desire to bring a family closer by creating a place where they can spend memorable times together.

3. Show that you are listening
Demonstrate to your client that you understand what they are saying by offering the right feedback during the conversation. Ask clarifying questions and summarize what you believe the client is telling you, says Rosemary Smyth, business coach and owner of Rosemary Smyth and Associates in Victoria.

If a client is discussing his risk tolerance, use phrases such as: “It sounds like you’re saying you’re a low-risk person”; or, “Can you explain to me what a low-risk investor means?”

This can eliminate misunderstandings and demonstrate to your client that you understand what they are telling you.

4. Watch your body language
Show that you are listening through your body language. During a meeting, sit in a relaxed, open position with your hands out on the desk, says Smyth.

If you are having a telephone interview, use verbal cues to let the client know that you’re paying attention.

5. Listen to yourself
Try tape-recording a client meeting (with the client’s permission) to help you see just how good a listener you actually are. That experience can often be a “shocking discovery” for some advisors, who find they spend more time talking than listening, Pullen says.

As well, Pullen adds, by recording the conversation, you will be able to focus on the conversation instead of taking notes, while also picking up a few points you may have missed during the actual meeting.

IE