A lot of people I talk to tell me that as long as someone can “talk the talk,” then they’ll be good at sales. This couldn’t be further from the truth though.

The best salespeople are actually much better listeners than they are talkers.

It’s one of the most important skills for salespeople, and also one of the most difficult to master.

Some salespeople think they’re good at listening, but they’re not actually listening.

They stop talking, but they’re only thinking of what they’re going to say next.

Great listeners actively listen.

They listen to each and every word their prospects and customers say.

They acknowledge.

They repeat back key bits to show they were listening.

And in doing so they uncover valuable information that helps them with the sale.

They also build far greater relationships with their customers because their customers feel like they are heard and understood.

If you want to get better at sales you need to start getting better at listening.