Smart Calling, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 13The More Important Side of the QuestionListening

Good salespeople are typically viewed as smooth talkers who can woo their audience with their words, when the truth is that the best salespeople listen more than they talk.

Everyone knows how to listen, but few people do it well. As a sales manager once told me: “My salespeople like to listen—to themselves talk.”

I’ll reemphasize the obvious: You need to listen to prospects in order to be most effective. I’ll also share a few techniques to help you become even better at it.

Your Most Powerful Listening Tool: The Pause

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.

—Mark Twain

Perhaps you already do it well. Most people don’t. Right now, just be silent for two seconds.

There, you did it. That’s all I’m asking.

Pause … more on your Smart Calls and in all of your conversations. Make an effort to pause at two points in the communications process on the phone and off:

1. Pause … after you ask a question.
2. Pause … after you hear an answer.

Not just a brief pause, but a two- to three-second pause. Here are some of the benefits of this technique:

He had occasional flashes of silence that made his conversation perfectly delightful.

—Sydney Smith

• You won’t feel compelled to continue talking after asking the question if you force yourself to pause. People don’t always immediately answer, and pausing gives them the opportunity to think a bit.
• The number and length of responses ...