Most sellers take the time to master their pitching or objection handling skills. However, do you ever stop to take the time to master your active listening skills? Join me in this episode with my guest, Zach Bradshaw, President of Business Development at Brightkey, as we deep dive into the nuances of active listening in sales. Introduction: Meet Zach Bradshaw Zach is the Vice President of Business Development at Brightkey, a company that specializes in providing managed services to businesses.  His success stems from the many failures and obstacles he faced throughout his professional journey.  Overcoming rejected proposals and poor approaches has allowed him to hone his ability to listen to clients.  Now, he guides his team to approach client interactions without preconceived notions and to focus on genuinely understanding clients' problems in order to address them.  The Power of Listening in Sales Recently, I conducted a LinkedIn poll and discovered that one of the most important sales skills is active listening.  However, this doesn’t just involve using your ears to understand consumers' pain points. Zach shares that a seller must also take the time to understand the unsaid and read between the lines, which is a crucial aspect of active listening. Preparing for Effective Sales Conversations Always prepare yourself before engaging in sales meetings. Zach advises sales reps to conduct comprehensive research on their prospects to gain a deep understanding of their businesses.  Analyzing CRM data and reviewing past interactions allows you to anticipate potential challenges and tailor your marketing approach accordingly. This preparation sets the stage for a more meaningful and productive dialogue with potential clients. The Role of Team Collaboration and Continuous Learning Stop holding isolated one-on-one meetings and adopt the collaborative approach that Zach uses with his team at Brightkey.  Holding meetings with your team allows everyone to share their experiences and insights on the company’s sales.  This culture of continuous learning and shared knowledge helps team members develop a well-rounded understanding of various sales scenarios and enhances their ability to ask the right questions. Overcoming the Fear of Asking Difficult Questions Are you afraid to ask questions that might disrupt the flow of a conversation? Learn Zach’s strategy to overcome this fear and adopt a partnership-based approach. "Don't go in with a preconceived solution. Don't go in thinking that we're going to push a and b product because it was brought up at the most recent meeting." - Zach Bradshaw. Resources Zach’s email: [email protected] Zach’s LinkedIn  Brightkey.net  //thttpshesalesevangelist.com/opener Sponsorship Offers This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot. With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales. 2.            This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse. 3.            This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation. Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin. Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, a