The Simplest Skill Most Salespeople Skip

There’s a sales skill that requires almost no training.

You don’t need a script.

You don’t need a new methodology.

You don’t even need another question.

You just need to pause.

Ask a question.

Then wait.

It sounds ridiculously simple.

But watch what happens in a real sales conversation.

The salesperson asks:

“What’s your biggest challenge right now?”

The prospect pauses for two seconds.

And the salesperson jumps in.

“Is it finding people? Retention? Getting enough new business?”

We asked a great question.

Then we took it away from them.

Silence makes us uncomfortable.

So we fill it.

But that little pause is often the prospect thinking.

And thinking is exactly what we want.

The easy answers come quickly.

The interesting answers sometimes take a few seconds.

So when you ask a good question, give it some room.

Don’t rescue them.

Don’t rephrase the question immediately.

Don’t give them three possible answers.

Count to three in your head if you need to.

Let them think.

This works when you’re coaching too.

Ask one of your salespeople:

“What do you think you could have done differently?”

Then wait.

Don’t answer it for them.

Give them the opportunity to do the work.

A pause can feel much longer to you than it does to the other person.

Get comfortable with it.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say next is nothing.