Think about the most powerful words you ever heard a sales presenter say. What made this particular presentation skills training stand out above all others?

The two words: "I understand."

Exceptional sales presenters seek to understand. They know that to win more sales, they need to build an accurate understanding of their client's issues.

To do what top presenters do, you need to develop these skills too. You need to listen, without judgment to your clients. Understand their issues and concerns. Listen to their hopes and goals.

Let's look at how you can listen deeply to your client's true message.

This listening skill has 2 parts: first you need to listen objectively. Second, you need to show that you understand.

Right now, let's focus on the first: keeping an open mind.

How Can You Stay Open?
You need to keep a neutral, non-judging mind. This means putting all your personal goals and agendas to the side.

No assumptions. No prejudice. No bias. No 'I've got a better solution.'

It means suspending judgment.

This gives your client plenty of room to express their feelings, thoughts and desires.

Whether you have these skills now or want to get them, you can learn how to listen objectively.

Use these 3 tips to get better at keeping an objective listening zone at the core of your presentation skills.

Tip One. Find a positive quality

Notice a positive quality of your client. Find at least one thing you appreciate. Look for traits you admire. Focus on strengths such as precision, directness, diplomacy, timeliness, or eloquence.

Tip Two: Find the human attributes

Notice a human quality that you appreciate. This will help you stay open and non judgmental as you listen to their ideas.
If your client is a hard-driving, tough decision maker, look for photos of her with her family. If your client is a deliberate, slow decision maker, look for photos of his hobbies or sports activities. These will give you a window into a completely human dimension of your business client.
By seeing human qualities of your clients, you can feel more open to their ideas, suggestions and requirements.

Tip Three: Listen with care

Perhaps this tip seems odd. It's not what you expect in a sales presentation tip for listening.

Yet, I have heard this tip from lawyers, sales professionals and heavy-hitting negotiators. Perhaps the last people you would expect to hear this from. One top lawyer known for high-stakes mediations told me this is his secret: listening with love.

It helps humanize the client. It changes the zone of listening from clinical to caring. From judgmental to open.

This tip is especially helpful if you are working with a client who you generally don't like. Or if this client really gets on your nerves. Or is particularly fussy or disagreeable. Listen with love. This can open up a new zone of non-judgmental understanding.

Like other parts of listening, understanding and capturing your client's message requires skills. Mental and physical skills.

In our last episode of The Presentation Lounge, we looked at how to keep a state of mental neutrality. In this episode, we'll explore how to interact with your client - and be sure you know what they want.

I know you already have the knack for presenting to your clients. But to do what top presenters do, you need to develop new skills.

The skills of listening, interacting and taking notes while your client speaks. The skill of making sense of priorities, even when your client is 'all over the map.' The skill of organizing your client's main ideas and capturing their message briefly.

The skill of feeding these main points back to them so it is accurate, brief and clear.

Use these 3 tips to make it easier to capture the key message your client wants to convey:

Tip One. Take Clear Notes

Write down your client's main points. Organize them in order of priority. Fill in details under the main headings. Jot down summary notes to use when you need to play back to your client.

Tip Two: Look for Big Picture

Your client is most likely immersed in detail. They are overflowing with statistics and data about their problem and their business. You have to look for the big picture. You don't want to get lost in the woods and miss the big idea.

Tip Three: Ask New Questions

To capture your client's key message, you need a variety of questions. Your questions will likely fall into three categories: building, clarifying, and confirming.

Building questions follow up on the ideas of your client. Clarifying questions aim at details and focus.
Confirming questions help you build understanding and avoid dangerous detours.

As you do this, you can interact with the client. Make sure you 'have it right.' Extract their key points. Get verbal agreement. Notice non-verbal confirmation. Take steps to confirm that you have heard accurately and completely.

All these steps show that you care about your client and are committed to finding the best solution. You are making their needs and priorities most important.

If you think about it, this is the cornerstone of a trusting relationship with your clients. You are listening with an open mind - and you are actively interacting to confirm you understand.

This is how elite sales professionals guarantee outstanding results.

I have just released a new report on how to engage your audience. Get it for free here.