Practice Active Listening

It would be a mistake to think of listening as a passive activity, when in fact it’s one of the most important things a seller can do. It’s about active listening, when you really absorb what your buyer says and prepare to ask follow-up questions.

You’re not just passively hearing them speak. You’re engaged. You should be talking less than half the time. This gives your prospect the chance to share their thoughts, and it gives you the chance to take it all in — not just their words, but also their tone of voice, their body language (if you can see them) and whether they’re using positive or negative language (e.g., “economical” versus “cheap”).