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Hi there.

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It's Sue.

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And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.

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These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and

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things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.

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If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DME, over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped,

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A few weeks ago,

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I was in Boulder to visit family.

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One afternoon was spent on Pearl street,

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which is a favorite of mine.

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A portion of Pearl street is pedestrian only,

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but in addition to all the great restaurant options,

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brand name and local boutiques,

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there's also street entertainment,

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musicians, acrobats,

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mimes, jugglers,

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characterised you get the idea an important stop for us.

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This trip was the Liberty puzzle shop.

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My stepdaughter is the one who turned me on to this

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local business,

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and I wanted to treat us both to a new puzzle.

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These puzzles are really special.

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They consist of laser cut wooden pieces in shapes,

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more intricate than your normal cardboard version.

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Nothing against those mind you,

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but these Liberty puzzles are really extraordinary.

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Also, depending on the size of your puzzle,

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20 to 40 pieces of each puzzle,

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I'm guessing on the number here,

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take on the theme of the image.

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So if it's a puzzle of an outside bistro,

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let's say you may have puzzle pieces that are shaped like

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a fork or a bottle of wine,

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a flower centerpiece,

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things like that.

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Anyway, as I said,

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it's very special.

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When we walked through the door,

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we were welcomed and then left to our own devices.

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We took a lot of time going through the shop and

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looking at all the options as we consider different puzzles and

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just generally enjoyed our shopping time together.

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The store attendees were always available to answer questions,

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ready to engage in small talk.

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If we initiated a conversation,

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but otherwise left us to enjoy our experience.

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The shop had several interactive things you could do besides select

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and buy their products too.

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It all made for a very pleasant visit.

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And we walked out puzzles in hand,

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happy and ready to continue on to another fun encounter.

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The next store we entered,

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drew us in because of the light fixtures we could see

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through the window,

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all handmade overseas.

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They had lamps of vibrant color glass with spectacular shapes and

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textures that played off the light.

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So beautifully.

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Again, we were welcomed into this store by a shop attendee.

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As we walked around,

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this was right on our heels,

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giving details of every single item we looked at explaining how

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she would offer free shipping,

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that she had various sizes of certain things.

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Also telling us the price of each and every lamp.

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We hadn't even asked her.

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Any questions,

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mind you.

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She just kept talking.

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It got to the point where we didn't even want to

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pick up or look at anything else because we were afraid

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we'd activate her detailed information lecture.

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Once again,

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we couldn't get out of that shop.

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Fast enough.

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This shop owner literally chased us away by not listening to

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the reason for our visit,

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which at first was only to look around and ponder the

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options. Instead,

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what she did was forced her own objective,

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which was to sell something,

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anything. The result was the opposite of what she wanted.

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And she missed out on a pretty significant lamp sale by

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not listening and responding appropriately.

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Listening is a skill that seems so elementary,

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but is often completely ignored.

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The next time you're engaged in a conversation.

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I want you to observe your own behavior to check in

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on your listening skills.

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Sure. You may be hearing what someone says,

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but are you really listening?

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What's the message they're trying to relay.

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Does their body language coincide with their words?

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Are you sensing emotion,

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by the way,

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they're emphasizing certain words or with the faces that they make.

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All of these things should be taken into consideration before forming

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your response.

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We do this naturally just by the way,

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we've learned to communicate.

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You have to truly be listening and observing to capture it.

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Unfortunately, what often happens.

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And I raised my hand as being guilty too,

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is we're so busy figuring out what we want to say

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next, that we miss subtle clues and these clues,

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if not taken into account in your response affect your entire

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interaction, it leaves the person feeling misunderstood,

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not heard and not valued.

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If this is a potential customer,

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you've just lost the sale,

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which is exactly what happened in my description of being in

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the lamp shop earlier,

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have you ever listened to an interview where the response being

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given leads to an obvious follow-up question,

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but instead of going deeper into the topic,

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the interviewer asks about something else entirely unrelated.

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It's like they're reading off a list of questions that they

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want to get through,

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which they probably are,

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but in doing so they've missed a much richer conversation.

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So given all this,

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here are five tips to help you get your listening skills

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up to par.

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First, as I've already mentioned,

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focus on your customer and what they're actually trying to tell

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you. This includes their words and behavior.

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Secondly, avoid forming your response before your customer's done talking.

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You may assume,

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you know what they're saying,

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because you've heard some of this before,

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when they may be really trying to tell you something entirely

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different. Then if the information is detailed,

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repeat back to them,

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what you think they just said.

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So they have the opportunity to correct your understanding.

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If they need to then ask follow-up questions,

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to get more detail,

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if appropriate.

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If someone says your candles are beautiful,

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but it's not what I'm looking for.

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You can respond with.

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Okay? I understand.

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So you've eliminated the pressure to buy,

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but then you could ask further questions.

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Could you help me out for the future?

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What's missing that you were looking for this information can be

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a goldmine for product creation.

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Perhaps your candles are too heavily scented for them or the

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size of your candles.

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Isn't in line with what they needed or any other vital

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piece of information that if they walked away without this extended

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conversation, you never would have known as a side note here.

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When you do get product feedback,

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that doesn't mean you automatically immediately turn around and adjust or

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add to your product offerings.

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What you've just received as a data point in your research.

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But if the same comment keeps coming up multiple times,

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then it's something to consider.

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Finally, in this list of five listening tips,

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thank them for any feedback that was given.

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I look at comments,

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positive and negative as a real gift.

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Hearing opinions directly from your customers is much more accurate and

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valuable than you guessing what's on their mind.

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Listening does something else for you too.

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We're talking today about listening in relation to selling your products,

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but it's obviously important in personal interactions too.

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When you listen well and respond appropriately,

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the other person feels seen and you've demonstrated that their contribution

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to the conversation is important and valued.

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Don't underestimate these feelings.

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It can make great things happen,

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increased sales,

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deeper connections,

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and so much more.

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That's a wrap.

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I'm a get to the point kind of girl.

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And this is what you can expect from these quick mid-week

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sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream

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of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them and they bring us both so much happiness.