by Jennifer Lim

Created on: May 18, 2009

It is difficult to imagine using silence as a sales tool. However, the truth is, silence can be a powerful sales tool. Contrary to common belief that salespeople are generally talkative, knowing when to keep quiet during a sales presentation can be vital to a closing the sale.

Here are some instances where silence in selling can be an advantage to helping you close a sale:

Sales presentation is not one sided. Often probing questions need to be asked to the client as a way of knowing which direction you should take and it is important to wait for an answer. When you keep quiet at the appropriate time, you not only give your client the space to think and the time to speak; you will also have a better understanding of the client needs. It shows that you listen when you keep silence while the client speaks. This would give a good impression to the client, it shows that you do care about what he thinks and not just merely there to sell something to him.

An engaging sales presentation with allowance for silence in between does not promote discomfort. In fact, it allows both parties to interact and understand each other. You may think that the client does not need to understand the sales person. The truth is most people buy from people they feel comfortable with. Not rushing through sales presentation and knowing when to shut up show your empathy and an added bonus to closing the sale.

Some sales people tend to oversell or over talk. They become so engrossed in trying to sell the product, they failed to notice buying signals. Buying signals can be in form of the client's body language, the questions they asked and the answers they give. After giving your sales presentation, always wait for the client response. Quietly count to 10 if they didn't response, continue asking appropriate probing question and wait again. If you sense a buying signal from your client response, stop your selling pitch and ask for the sale. This is the crucial point and you need to be patient and stay silence to let your client response. Do this a few times if necessary until you close the sale.

A skilful salesperson knows that clients like to think that they make the decision to buy rather than they are coerce into buying. Therefore, the success rate of closing a sale is higher when silence is used appropriately in the selling process. Finally, remember to always keep a friendly persona, don't show your impatience or agitation when keeping quiet.

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