There was a time when the advice given to those with the “give of the gab” was to go into sales.

Those days are gone.

If all you can do is talk, you will fail as a sales person.

If you think that you can wear people down by monopolizing the “conversation”, and that they will buy from you just to shut you up, then you are badly mistaken.

Every single one of your prospects is a lot savvier now than they were forty or fifty years ago.

They know the sales techniques – probably better than you do.

They know what your competitors offer – probably better than you do.

They’ve done their homework.

And so, when you’re given the privilege to speak with them – and it is a privilege – you have to have your act together. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time, and theirs.

 

Overselling

Sales people seldom admit that they talk too much. Instead, that label that activity with the less convicting, and also less accurate, term of overselling.

The truth is that while you can talk your prospects into a sale, you can much more easily talk them out of one.

If you don’t know when to put a sock in it, then it really doesn’t matter what you call it if you lose the sale.

There’s another aspect, too, that’s often overlooked.

Sales people need enthusiasm; no question. Enthusiasm demonstrates belief in what you’re selling.

There is a fine line, however, between being excited about your product and being aggressive, or even rude.

You must never cross that line. If you do, that is what your prospects will remember about you. That is what they will associate with your product. And that, too, will make them buy from someone else.

 

So, with those thoughts in mind, let’s look at some signs that you need to put a sock in your gob.

It should never come to this, by the way.

You’re a professional. No matter how excited you are about your product, and no matter how much it can help your prospects, you need to learn the art of self-control.

People need time to process what you’re saying.

Make sure that you give them all that they need.

 

There are at least five signs that you’re talking too much:

1. The conversation becomes an argument.

Unlike Monty Python’s Argument Clinic, your prospects have agreed to meet with you because they’re interested in what you have to say. (“No. They aren’t. Yes. They are. No . . .”)

That said you mustn’t misinterpret their objections or criticisms as grounds to become aggressive.

Face it. Your invoice will not read, “Bar of Chocolate, Quantity: 1, Price 60p plus VAT”.

Whatever you have to offer them is likely to cost a lot of their money. They want to make sure that they will get the best possible value.

And so they have a right to question you.

You would do exactly the same thing if you were in their shoes.

If it seems that the emotion of the meeting is rising, then make sure that you diffuse it by responding quietly. After all: A soft answer turns away wrath.

 

2. The conversation goes nowhere.

When the discussion starts to drift, then you know that you’ve been talking too much.

Why does that happen?

When you’re doing all the talking, two things occur: Either your prospects forget what they wanted to say, or they conclude that you’re not interested in their comments.

And so, they disengage from the seriousness of the discussion and retreat, if you like, to a more superficial discourse.

This kind of thing happens great subtlety; without you even realizing it.

One minute you’re talking about their problems, and in the next you’re waxing about peripheral things.

You might get offered another cup of coffee.

The prospect might just sigh audibly, change position, and glance out of the window.

The best thing you can do when this happens is to put a sock in it.

Ask a question that will give prospects a lot of rope. If they take it and re-engage with you, then you’ve got a second chance.

 

3.  You start to promise more than you intended.

You know this already.

You have to be well-prepared before any sales call.

You have to know what you’re willing to give, what you’ll withhold, and what you expect in return.

You also have to know where your “red lines” are.

If you find yourself crossing these lines – giving away the farm – you need to put a sock in it.

Why?

Because by then it’s obvious to prospects that you’re desperate.

A sales person who’s desperate isn’t good for anyone.

Selling is a negotiation. It’s an auction. It’s a card game.

You have to know in advance when to raise, and when to fold.

 

4. You keep asking the same questions with different words.

Here’s the thing.

Prospects will tell you what they want to. No more.

If you find yourself asking the same thing over and over, if you feel like your prospects won’t tell you what you want to know after the second time around, then stop selling.

Accept the fact that they don’t want to talk about it.

Either move onto a different topic, or wrap up the call.

 

5. It feels like prospects have agreed to meet in order to be polite

This is a tricky one.

Business people are busy.

If you’re in business for yourself, then you know this better than most.

Here’s the thing.

If you have to make repeated phone calls to make an appointment, it could be that prospects have simply felt browbeaten into submission.

They may feel that they’ll meet with you if it means that you’ll finally leave them alone.

They may think it’s necessary to tell you “No” to your face, because saying that they didn’t have time to meet you 50 times didn’t work.

You’ve met prospects like this.

You can tell by their demeanour that they are seeing you in order to be polite; but they have no interest in what your selling and will never buy from you.

And the truth is that you shouldn’t even be there.

Each prospect is different.

You have to judge for yourself which ones are putting you off because they’re interested in your product, but too busy to see you now and those who wish you’d stop phoning them.

Only you can determine which is true.

That said, you’re a professional.

You’re supposed to be an expert at reading clues.

It could well be that you’ll need to put a sock in it in order to hear what you’re being told.

 

So, there are five clues that you’ve over-rabbited.

Take them to heart.

Learn to recognize them

Better still, listen more.

If you do, then you may be able to leave your socks in your drawer.

 

 

If you want to improve your selling skills and results – get in touch