The Power of Silence
When you're talking to a prospective customer and there's a brief lull in the discussion, do you jump right in to fill the gap?
Let me ask you a question: What is the one single thing that you or your company could do in the next 12 months that would dramatically impact your sales? (1,001 ... 1,002 ... 1,003)
If you really thought about it, what's causing you the most trouble in your sales efforts? (1,001 ... 1,002 ... 1,003)
A common challenge salespeople face is just getting in the door of big companies. Once they're in, it's really difficult to get people to change from the status quo. And, because of today's business climate, corporate decision-makers are averse to risk.
Are you finding that to be the case? Which of those issues are causing you the most frustration? (1,001 ... 1,002 ... 1,003)
Have you thought about how you could make it easier on yourself? For instance, what kinds of marketing initiatives could you undertake? (1,001 ... 1,002 ... 1,003)
OK, I'll stop now. Hopefully you got my point about the continual rephrasing and butting-in that sellers do after they ask a question. I wanted to point out what is lost because of the lack of silence.
So, again, what is the one single thing you or your company could do in the next 12 months that would dramatically impact your sales?
That's a provocative question. Decision-makers can't respond to it with a simple pat answer.
It makes them stop and think, "What would that one thing be? New offerings? More calls? Additional money in our marketing budget? Which would have the most impact?"
That's what you want them to do. When they answer, you'll learn a whole lot about what's going on in their organization, what the big challenges are, what's the decision-maker's perspective on the issues and solutions and so much more.
But, they need more than three seconds to ponder the question, to play around with it and to sort through their options. When you cut them off at only two to three seconds, you lose in more ways than you can imagine. Your customer thinks that you're self-serving and only interested in achieving your own objectives. Therefore, you don't establish a positive relationship with the person, so they really don't want to meet with you again. And all this happens because you don't know how to count beyond three.
The value of silence in selling is rarely discussed. Mostly people focus on what they're going to say. Instead of this, try a bit more silence. Ask a question, lean back and start counting to yourself. Start at 1,001 and continue. If you hit 1,010 and still don't have a response, then you can rephrase or interject something. But not before. Keep counting silently to yourself because silence truly is golden.
By Jill Konrath
Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies and founder of Sales Shebang, is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and industry events. For more information, visit www.sellingtobigcompanies.com. Sign up for the newsletter and get a bonus Sales Call Planning Guide. Buy Konrath's book, Selling To Big Companies, at Amazon. Visit the community for Women Who Sell at www.salesshebang.com.
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