About This Episode:
Your sales reps can have all the product knowledge in the world, but if they’re not expert communicators, you’re leaving money on the table.
To see a great salesperson in action is to witness deft emotional intelligence. They listen, they ask probing questions, they know when to push and when to step back.
These are the signs of an expert communicator.
Underperforming sales reps are just the opposite: They pitch hard, talk over objections, and don’t seem to notice the person in front of them.
According to sales and marketing coach Devon McCarty, “A lot of salespeople show up and close their ears and just get into the rhythm of what they wanted to talk about.”
To improve your sales outcomes, you need to improve the communication skills of your sales team. Communication is a skill that can be learned and mastered — or it can atrophy.
Devon says it’s time for a shift in sales culture that prioritizes listening and asking great questions.
As a first step, teams need to start recording their sales calls. This way, they can watch themselves in action and start to become aware of growth opportunities. From there, they must normalize feedback, practice role-playing, and reflect on the deals they failed to close so they can know what to do better.
If sales teams aren’t actively working to improve their communication, they will see sub-par results. And these will diminish further over time.
Connect with Devon McCarty:
Devon McCarty is a sales and marketing coach at IMPACT, working with clients from a number of industries including manufacturing and IT.
Learn more about Devon at his IMPACT bio page
Connect with Devon on LinkedIn
Keep Learning:
Watch: The Secret To More Sales: Asking Better Questions
Learn: How to Achieve the Golden Talk-to-Listen Ration in Sales
Read: If You Want To Sell More, Ditch The Sales Pitch in Favor of ‘Authentic Conversations
Read: Your Employees are Likely Quitting Because of Poor Communication
