Talking too much becomes white noise to your prospects ears—indistinguishable sounds come through the air and evaporate instead of registering. Unintentionally some sellers make others push the “off” button. A common sales stopper is too much talking and not enough listening. They erase all the hard work you’ve invested and push potential prospects away instead of engaging them.

Over talking repels and dilutes information and valuable tidbits that could have enrolled your prospect thereby becoming a loss for the both of you. Financially you suffer and they miss out on a product or service they needed.

The root cause is usually nervousness and being afraid. It stems from feeling you don’t know enough, you aren’t enough, lack confidence, or are untrained. Another stressor is the self -induced pressure to psychically know what prospects want or need.

The cure:

Tune in and dial it back ––both in your words and intensity. You don’t need to know everything. You probably don’t need to be an expert but you do need to know who to go to and where to get the appropriate answers. Provide helpful information and listen carefully and speak sincerely to set yourself apart. Don’t gloss over this and act quiet as you endure their yammering itching for them to wrap it up so you can make your point. Don’t use what they’re saying against them and plot and plan to manipulate their words just to show your POV. Instead, listen for the subtle and not so subtle words and needs of your prospect or client. For good selling it’s just as important to know when to pull back as it is to forge ahead. It might take a little longer but it is very effective.

Practice:

Attentiveness. Especially during your getting acquainted meetings it’s better to ask more questions than it is to have all the answers. Is it easier to kick back and have them talk or you? Which and why? Is it working for you as you hoped? Return again to paying attention to ––their words and the context, tone, and feelings you receive. This should keep you busy and intrigued. Wait for natural openings in the conversation and paraphrase or go deeper by asking the question beneath the question. Your true objective is making a real connection. If the prospect is uncomfortable with your attention they will create distance, which means they’re not really ready or into you right now.