I love to have conversations, do you? In order to have a great conversation we need to know more about that person or persons. Asking open-ended questions is the key to keep the other person talking and from a psychological standpoint, when the other person is talking, they are sharing a lot of information about themselves. When I am speaking to people, I want them to feel comfortable with me and I want to hear their story and gather information, so when I begin to talk, it will have more relevance and impact.

One of the best things you can do as a salesperson is to listen, look at things from the customer’s point of view and learn how to ask good questions. In my experience, I have found that the average salesperson practices what to say, the best salespersons practice what to ask. This is because when you ask, you keep the conversation going and you focus on them and not yourself. We often think that selling is about talking, it’s not. Selling is about understanding and if you can understand your customers, you can have better conversations. Remember, when you are talking to the customer that it’s not a presentation, it’s a conversation.