Of all of the important life skills and HVAC independent contracting skills that we can work to achieve, listening effectively is the proficiency that can bring the most amazing and rewarding results with both clients and coworkers inside HVAC, plumbing, and electrical independent contracting companies. Listening allows us to absorb, observe, and learn so we can better communicate and relate with others. In our post today, we are going to jump into the awesome effects that listening can have when we learn, “if speaking is silver, then listening is gold.” (Turkish Proverb):
Listening during Client Interaction-
“Man’s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.” — Carl Rogers
The most important aspect of company-client interaction is effective communication. Learning to effectively communicate first starts with the listening skills of a CSR, technician, manager, or owner during their interaction with a client or potential client. If we first learn to open our ears before we open our mouth, we will find ourselves in less miscommunication mishaps. One reason effective listening leads to less trouble is because listening leads to posing keen questions that work to clarify interaction so communication can happen.
When HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company team members are working to attain or retain a client, it is so important that the company employee embrace the realization that listening to the client’s needs, wants, and thoughts will get him a lot closer to a final close than will verbally tossing tons of information on the client. This is true because listening allows a company team member to see the areas inside their company that would most interest the client based on what the coworker hears inside the conversation. This also means effectively listening to body language and nonverbal communication during communication such as eye contact, tone of voice, and types of nonverbal communication. Simply learning the skill of listen with your eyes can tell you what is happening deep inside an individual’s mind. When what a person says with their mouth doesn’t match what they say with their nonverbal communication and body language then company employees can work to find the area of concern and reinstate effective communication with a client.
Listening during Coworker Interaction-
“The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.”— Woodrow Wilson
Along with learning to effectively listen during interaction with clients, it is also important to learn that leaders who listen will win the respect, loyalty, and trust of their team. When it comes to effectively listening to coworkers, it is important that managers, owners, and leaders learn to hear what team members are saying and allow those needs, wants, and concerns to effect their decisions. Team members notice when their leaders take what they have to say seriously and when they truly want to understand the thoughts of their company team. Leaders that work to embrace this genuine communication skill through listening learn to keep their coworkers’ needs in the forefront of their minds so communication can happen more naturally and effectively.
Just as the intriguing quote from above hints, great leaders don’t simple listen– they heed, remember, and retain important information from their team. Listening and retaining in this important manner helps leaders learn flexibility and the importance of making significant decisions that fit the needs of the team. Effectively listening to coworkers doesn’t mean that leaders should doubt their ability to make hard choices but rather it helps leaders considers all sides of a matter and helps to sharpen a new leader’s ability to decide like a seasoned leader. There could be nothing more appealing to a team of confident and knowledgeable employees then a leader that knows how to effectively listen.
Listening skill makes communication happen. As we learned in our post today, listening must occur effectively while interacting with clients as well as while interacting with coworkers. Thank you for following our weekly posts. Here at Service Excellence Training, we love turning independent contractors’ learning into earning!
-Resource curated by Whitney Stewart of Service Excellence Training
