TLDR; Whether you like it or not, you are in sales, and to be successful you need to listen more than you talk. Start by using the phrase “tell me more.”
Oooh, those three little words.
Tell. me. more.
The truth is, you’re in sales.
Whether you’re raising money, selling a product, or negotiating with your partner on where to go for dinner, “sales” is nothing more than a codeword, albeit a bad one, for reaching a state that’s mutually beneficial.
While the profession might be synonymous with doing all the talking, that’s actually quite opposite of what world-class sellers do. They listen.
If you find yourself “selling” there is only one course of action, and that is to stop.
As hard as it is, you need to resist your primal urges to say that answer you were thinking while the other person was talking, pause, and say “tell me more.”
It will feel awkward at first, actually caring about what someone else is saying, but that’s ok.
Trust me, you will be amazed at how wrong your former self was about what you thought mattered.
See you Monday.