The Best Thing You Can Say to a Prospect

Salespeople–along with professionals, business owners, and others who have to sell as part of their jobs–are always looking for magic words. Words and phrases that will quickly capture a prospect’s interest, easily overcome objections, and effortlessly close the deal.

So in that spirit, I want to share with you what I have discovered—after much painstaking research—to be the single best thing you can say to your prospect. Write this down, commit it to memory, tattoo it on your arm. Without question, this will help you achieve more sales.

The absolute, single, BEST thing you can say to your prospect is…….
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NOTHING!

Years of training, coaching, mystery shopping, and being a customer myself, as well as sharing with and reading other sales experts, has led me to one inescapable conclusion: The vast majority of salespeople talk too much!

So shut up!
Zip it!
Close your trap!
Hush!
Shut your pie hole!
Be quiet!
Put a sock in it!
Mute yourself!
Button your lip!
Clam up!
Shush!
Silence!

Instead of constantly running your mouth, hoping the right words will accidentally spill out, let your prospect talk. More often than not, if we just shut our yaps, our prospects will tell us everything we need to know.

To be even more effective, ask your prospect questions. Listen intently. Ask them to explain, or for more detail. Empathize. Smile. Frown. Laugh. Nod or shake your head.

Most of us believe—many of us have even been taught—that the more we talk, the closer we get to the sale. The opposite is actually true: The more our prospects talk, the closer we get to the sale. But they can’t talk if we’re talking.

So shut up and make the sale.