Fear of Rejection

I believe the number one reason a salesperson oversells is his or her fear of rejection. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize when a prospect is sold on the product, and I give the average salesperson credit for knowing that. Sadly, the guy is just too scared to close the sale because he doesn’t […]

Listen With All Your Senses

When you first meet someone, the natural thing is to think of something to say once you’ve exchanged greetings and introductions. Wrong! Don’t do that. Say nothing. Think about listening. The best way to sell yourself is to let the other person do most of the talking. I focus first on their favorite topic: themselves. […]

The Other Guy’s Shoes

The best way I know how to get yourself into a winning position with someone else is to understand their perspective better than they do. “How can that be?” you say. It simply means putting yourself in their shoes so that you fully understand what they’re seeing, thinking, and feeling (except that you can be […]

A Lesson in Listening

I don’t have to tell you how important repeat business is in any industry. That’s how I made as much as I did during my career. I knew how important getting those customers back was, so I worked at sharpening my listening skills my entire career. But I too had to learn that lesson the […]

The Need to Be Heard

I’ve talked a lot about business situations in which listening is key to understanding what your client or prospect wants or needs. I remember getting a drink of water one day and overhearing a customer tell a salesman about the size of a fish he had recently caught and how proud he was of the […]