When I made the varsity baseball team in tenth grade, I was ecstatic. Looking back over the last 36 years, that might be the most excited I’ve ever been about an achievement. Our baseball program was one of the best in Florida and it was rare for a sophomore to make the team. I was on cloud nine for about a day. Then reality hit me. These guys were good. I mean “different league, where did you learn that” good.
I immediately noticed that every batter followed a few basic fundamental laws of hitting: they kept their front shoulder closed, their hands stayed back until the last second, and the path of their hands followed an inside-out trajectory (not really, but it looked that way). Every one of them had these elements in their swings. Soon, with coaching and a million cuts off the tees and in the batting cages, I also formed these habits. Until this point in my young baseball career, I succeeded off talent and hard work. We didn’t really have to follow these strict techniques. But now I was playing with the big boys, and if I wanted to survive, I needed these fundamentals.
When summer league started in June, it was blatantly obvious who didn’t play varsity ball. A few months earlier, my eyes would never have detected a difference, but now I saw every detail. The casual players had some success during summer league, but they would never make it against varsity pitching.
In my job today, it’s the same experience. I can spot a great salesperson in a minute, and I can spot a poor salesperson in less than a second. It’s not their charisma or knowledge or work ethic. It’s all about the fundamentals. A bright, hard-working, and likeable salesperson may succeed selling low-ticket items, but they’ll never be able to play with the varsity without certain fundamentals. And there is one particular fundamental that screams “amateur” if it’s not followed. What is it?
Listening.
Amateurs feel like they need to control all situations by talking. When I’m with a salesperson that interrupts, doesn’t take a breath between thoughts, doesn’t wait for the customer to pause, and doesn’t ask follow-up questions, then I know I’m with someone that’s not great. And so do your customers.
Be quiet. Let your customers speak. Never interrupt. When they’re done speaking, take a breath and give them space before responding. When you’re talking, pause and give them time to respond or absorb whatever you just said. Be quiet. Be still. Exude confidence. The more you talk, the more you appear inferior.
Don’t take this obvious blog post lightly. If you don’t listen, your customers will feel it and will judge you for it.
Be quiet. Be still. Listen.
