As sales professionals, one of the hardest skills for us to learn is LISTENING.
Our managers and mentors teach us hundreds of things: how to cold call, how to elevator pitch, how to prospect, how to qualify, how to close and so on. Rarely, though, are we ever taught how to actually listen to prospects.
Shutting up and listening to my prospects was the single most important lesson I’ve learned in sales, and I thank sales trainer, Jeff Hoffman, for imparting this wisdom on me. Jeff taught me to not take on other peoples’ insecurities and to revel in uncomfortable silences.
