26 - The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday M arch 1, 2006 c 0A K M LLE C H A M B E R ^' CO M M ERCE Sponsored in pa rt by KlIM lLK'a V d U ± BUSINESS Beat the Taxman W hat to listen for.... When we think of communications in business, often we conjure up images of press releases, internal house organs/newsletters and other announcements. All of these are methods o f getting information from one source to another. We salespeople also think of ourselves as great communicators in that we have a wealth of knowledge about our products and services that we just love to tell our prospects about. And like a press release, it is all one way. We really do have the gift of gab. This is a real detriment to our suc cess as true sales professionals. O ur outgoing nature allows us to talk on end about just about anything, and many of us tend to do just that. But the real secret to effective communi cations for salespeople lies in the following statement. Prospects will not care one iota about how much you know until they first know how much you care. People will believe that you care when you take the time to hear about their concerns, their wants, and their needs. You achieve this by asking focused questions designed to get that information out. But asking questions is of little value if you do not listen to the answers. So LISTENING SKILLS, the most important aspect of sales communi cation, are critical to your success. Com munication, unlike what occurs in a newsletter, sales brochure, or press release, is a two way active participatory process. And the best salespeople apply the 80/20 rule by ensuring that their prospect does 80% of the talking, even against their own hum an nature. Here are some quick listening skills tips. Ways to listen...... Clues .... As to areas where your product or service could act as a solution to T H E IR problems. Needs & Wants ... as they express them to you. Problems, Opportunities, Concerns, Frustrations, Challenges ... any thing that could provide a clue as to how your service could make a meaningful difference. Customer Service Issues .... This particular area is a good one in that experience shows it opens up a lot of other issues. The Dominant Buying Motive ... the real, and most often emotional, reason why a prospect will buy. Take plenty of notes and watch for Quick! W hats the biggest expense you'll face in your lifetime? Your mortgage? No! Car Payments? Try again? Raising your children? N ot even close. Surprisingly, the biggest expense we face in life is personal income tax. T hat' s right. For most Canadians, taxes are their single largest expense. T hink about it. W hat other expense every year eats up around 30% of your total income? So what can you do about it? T ry some of these tax saving tips. Claim your eligible employment related expenses. Simply by having the necessary form signed by your employer, any expenses that are part of your job duties that were not reimbursed qualify as a tax deduction. For example, a salesperson can deduct some or all o f the costs necessary to earn commission income as long as they were not reimbursed for those costs. If you need your vehicle for your job and you're not reimbursed for that cost, you can claim the proportion of your total Car expenses based on business usage. If an office in your home is where you principally perform your duties, deduct a portion o f heat, hydro and maintenance. In fact, an employed salesperson using a home office can often deduct part of their property taxes and insurance. Claim moving expenses when you start a new business, begin at a new workplace or go to school. All that is required is that you move a minim um o f 40 kilometers closer to your new place o f work or school. The cost o f sending your Jkids to summer camp and other childcare costs can be claimed as long as the activity allowed the lowest earn ing spouse to earn income. This includes baby sitting and daycare for children up to the age o f 16. Start up a part time business. Running your own business, even a small one, can provide you with valuable tax write-offs. This doesn't mean giving up your day job! Simply offer your other talents on a part time basis. Do you know anything about plumbing, baby sit ting or lawn maintenance? The options are endless. If you're carry ing on a bona fide business with a reasonable expectation of profit at some point, you're entitled to some attractive deductions. In fact, if your deductions exceed your business income, as is often the case in the first few years, your losses can be applied against your employ m ent income. Gary Bateman, P. Eng., MBA., C.A. is the author of " A Declaration of Taxpayer Rights: Your family' s complete tax and estate planning guide". Actively ... encourage more dia logue by interjecting phrases such as "Go on", "W hy is that?", or just by nodding your head in agreement. Empathetically ... by sharing a lit tle of yourself (briefly) in a way that relates to their concerns. Quiedy, without interrupting. Sincerely .... By demonstrating that you care. Be Focused ... and if they appear to go off on a tangent, ask how what they just said relates to your discus sion. Use Eye Contact .. .listening involves both the ears and the eyes. The eyes are actually more impor tant. Watch Body Language ... studies have proven that 55% of outbound communication is done visually, or by body language. Clarify & Confirm ... your under standing of what your prospect has said. Body language signals. & Buying Remember, effective sales com munication is not talking it's lis tening. W hen it finally comes time for you to deliver your customized sales presentation, you'll choose words and reasons to buy that your prospect has already said to you, and she'll be more likely to buy because she'll like. the words she's hearing. After all she said them first. Bill Weis is President o f The HRD Group and an active participant in various Chamber activities. 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