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 will increase. People feel more comfortable when you give them time to frame their answers, which will probably be more comprehensive.
• The amount of unsolicited information will increase. By not jumping in immediately after they’ve answered, they’re given a little time to contemplate what they’ve just said, which may prompt additional comments.
• You’ll have more time to understand what they’ve said. Since you know you’re going to pause, you can spend all of your listening time focused on the message, not on what you will say next.
• You’ll have more time to formulate your next question or statement—which will be more meaningful since you’ll possess more relevant information.

I know this can be difficult for people who get edgy when there’s silence on a call. Here’s how to get over that and resist the urge to jump in or keep talking: Just picture the scenario when you’re with people in person, keeping in mind what they’re doing during the silent times—thinking, stroking their chin, eyes gazing upward, pondering your offer. They are doing the same on the phone. Practice this on the phone and in all areas of your life. You’ll find you get more information than ever.

Listen for Their Key Terminology

On my own past four sales calls with prospects who contacted me looking for training, I listened very carefully and looked for their key words. I heard:

• “Here’s our challenge …”
• “Our biggest problem is …”
• “Where we need work is …”
• “Where we’re not up to par is …”

Of course, I took notes and wrote down exactly what they said, and after hearing each one, I simply replied, “Tell me more about that.” All of them continued, pouring out their problems. It’s a lot easier when people sell themselves. We often just need to get out of the way.

How to Make Eye Contact by Phone

I was having dinner at a nice Italian restaurant while on a speaking engagement in Chicago. My waiter was outstanding: very attentive, but not hovering. It seemed as though he always magically appeared at the right moment. However, one thing about him seemed a bit unusual: He didn’t make eye contact when he spoke. Every time he talked, he would look down at his shoes. It definitely affected my overall perception of him and even made me a bit uncomfortable.

Of course, my prospect and I can’t see each other by phone, but we can feel the same vibes created by eye contact or lack thereof. Let’s look at some ways to make that connection by phone.

Practice “Extreme Listening”

An author and podcaster I find entertaining and interesting is James Altucher. He has interviewed hundreds of people from all walks of life. In one of his newsletters he talked about how he practices “extreme listening,” and how it helps him to better understand people and ask stronger follow-up questions.

I’ve applied a few of his techniques to sales:

• Ask yourself, “Why are they telling me this story?” If someone tells you how the sales department was failing before they turned it around, are they saying that because they need recognition? And if so, why?
• Where are the spaces? A prospect says, “And after we restructured our account assignments we lost some reps.” Wait a second. Why did they restructure the assignments? Why did they lose the reps? Was it because of the restructure, or something else?
• Do they ever contradict themselves? If a prospect tells you early in a conversation that they are happy with who they are buying from, then says there are gaps in service, you need to pick up on that and find out the real story.

Listen When They Lower Their Voice

Want to know a secret? Sure you do; everyone does. Be particularly aware of what prospects and customers say when they lower their voices so as to not be heard by others in their area. This is typically sensitive and important information.

What Is Your Listening-to-Talking Ratio?

In his book How to Get People to Do Things, Robert Conklin shares results from a six-month-long study of salespeople. He found that the lowest 10% of a sales force talked an average of 30 minutes per presentation, while the top 10% talked for 12 minutes.

It Would Be Tougher to Listen Your Way out of a Sale

A sales rep for a cooking magazine I subscribed to called and said, “The reason I’m calling is that your subscription runs out this month, and I was calling to see if you wanted to keep that going … orrrrrrrrr what you wanted to do …” (nervous pause) “orrrrrrr if you just wanted to let it run out?”

Even though I had not given any thought to my plans regarding the subscription, his hanging orrrs and invitation for a no finalized my decision. He made it so easy to agree, “Yeah, just go ahead and let it run out.” The law of inertia would have been in his favor if he had chosen to stop talking and avoided the orrr and invitation after making his positive suggestion.

There are several elementary points here that carry so much impact—and they’re violated regularly.

• Don’t talk yourself out of a sale.
• Shut up.
• Don’t make negative recommendations.
• Make positive recommendations, and then pause, regardless of how awkward the silence might feel.

Here’s another example. After getting the question “What is your best price?” I heard a sales rep say, “Well, it’s $799.”

No reaction from the prospect.

“… but we could probably give you a $150 new customer discount.”

No reaction from the prospect.

“And I probably can get another $80 knocked off.”

“Okay, that sounds good,” said the prospect—who probably would have bought at full price had the rep simply stated the price and shut up.

Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much.

—Robert Greenleaf