Sales Training Tip #138: Selling & Marriage Licenses

Just because you’ve bought a marriage license, it doesn’t mean you’ll have a great marriage. Similarly, just because you’ve made a sale, it doesn’t mean you’ll have a great customer. Remember, you have to work at it by investing time in it and being a good listener.

Professional Selling Skills Training: Silence…..

It amazes me how many salespeople I run into who claim to be great listeners and love to tell people how good they are at getting the customer to talk. More times than not, the people who say this are the worst at listening and talking too much. I’ve always believed if you have to walk around telling others how good you are at something, it rarely means you are. If somebody is a good listener, it will come out in all kinds of conversations, whether they be sales calls or any other type of conversation.

The rule I will always live by is that salespeople should never be talking more than 20% of the time, no matter what type of sales call (even during very technical calls). Remember, a person can talk all they want, but if the other person isn’t listening and, more importantly, comprehending what is being said, then it’s all a waste of time. Asking questions and getting the listener to play back to you their interpretation and application of what you’ve told them is the best way to determine their level of understanding.