Sales Laundry

What is Dead Air, as it relates to sales, anyway?

dead air – noun. Silence in the room when no one is talking or the silence between the time a question is asked and the answer given.

Do not be afraid of dead air.  Do not be afraid to ask your client a question and let silence fill the room while you wait for the answer.  Well placed silence can be a sales tool just as strong as any other in your bag.

Trust me when I say it is not necessary to fill up all of the gaps in a conversation with more words for the sake of saying more words to avoid awkward silence. 

 There do not have to be words in the air at all times.  In fact your words, as a dutiful Business Development Executive, should be far fewer on average than your prospects.  80%/20% is what the experts say.  Remember, you want to hear what Mr. or Ms. Prospect has to say because they have the problem you are trying to get paid to solve!

 There are times you are going to need your friend “dead air,” so you might as well get comfortable with him right now.

 For example, when the time is right, and you ask for the order from your prospect, let the dead air out there hang to add emphasis to your question.

Ask the question…

 “Mr. Jones, if I can put together a pilot project that meets the criteria we have defined here, will you sign off on the proposal?” 

Then do the most important part… be quiet and wait for an answer.

 It will either be “Yes,” “No,” a valid reason, an excuse, or he will create a diversion and run screaming from the room like his hair is on fire.  That is my experience, anyway.

 When you have pushed a man to a decision or woman for that matter, give him a chance to answer.  This is true of all of the defining questions you will ask throughout your sales career.  I will go as far as to say that your very success in sales hinges on your being able to identify and ask the right questions and sit in silence while you listen attentively for an answer.

 What do you think? (I am not saying a word until you answer.)