Do you dread the sound of silence in sales? You shouldn’t. Silence can be a good thing in sales. Here’s how to use silence and sell more.
Use the sound of silence in sales in the reception area.
Do you make phone calls while you’re sitting in the reception area waiting for your customer? Don’t. It’s annoying to other people who are sitting there and have to listen to your conversation. Most people on the phone don’t realize how their voice carries. You don’t want to annoy the receptionist, or others waiting in the lobby, with your booming phone conversation. Instead, go over your sales call plan in your head so you are ready for the sales call.
There’s another reason not to be on the phone while you wait. It would be very impolite to make your customer wait while you’re on the phone with someone else. It’s also rude to cut your customer off on the phone. There is only one possible phone call you can make from the lobby. It’s to check your voicemail. You won’t be talking so you won’t disturb other people. You also can quickly end the call if your customer arrives in the lobby.
Ask a question and wait for silence.
Pay attention to the questions you ask your customers. You want to make the question as easy to answer as possible. This means no 25-word questions filled with extraneous details. Don’t offer the answer either. You do not want to limit your customer’s thinking to answer your question.
Your silence comes next now that you’ve made it easy for your customer to answer. Don’t talk while you wait! You are waiting for your customer to answer. What you are doing is using the sound of silence in sales to allow your customer to think and give you a thoughtful answer from his point of view.
This silence works especially well if you’re asking a difficult question about a problem or issue. Most people are uncomfortable with silence and want to fill it. When you maintain the silence, you are forcing your customer to fill the silence with his answer. You want that answer.
Use silence strategically before you answer a difficult question.
Imagine your customer asks you a complex or difficult question. You immediately reply without hesitation because you know the answer. Yes, it might appear that you are very knowledgeable about the situation and you immediately answer with the best reply.
Can you see your quick response from your customer’s point of view? Instead of getting a thoughtful, measured response he got a quick answer that might not be the best response. That’s why you want to use silence to show your customer you are thinking before you give your answer.
Using silence in selling is what truly successful salespeople do. They use silence to appear more powerful, in control and give more weight to their words. Isn’t that what all sales professionals want from their selling?
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