One of the most common complaints about direct salespeople in general is that they talk too much. For sure this is a bad habit of inexperienced sales reps. Once they get their foot in the door, they are so desperate and nervous to make a sale that they start yacking and don’t stop until the prospective client kicks them out or signs on the dotted line.

What is wrong with that picture? Well, sell anything to anyone by talking them into a stupor and the second you are out the door they are going to regret their decision to buy. This kind of bull-at-the-gate sales won’t win you referrals and happy customers.

If you have done your homework as a Kirby salesperson no doubt you know everything there is to know about what a fabulous machine it is and what a great job it does of picking up the most stubborn particles. But, unless your client is particularly interested in engineering you probably do not have to go into minute technical detail.

Instead stop talking and ask the client about his or her needs. How would the superior cleaning power of the Kirby address those needs? How will you ever be able to tell them if you don’t stop talking long enough to ASK what those needs are.

Imagine a mother who loves gardening. She loves nothing better than to trudge in and out all day long pottering about among her roses and no doubt tracking particles of soil back into the house each time. A Kirby would make short work of even ground in dirt but how would you know to tell her that if you had not given her the chance to tell you about her hobby?

The same for a pet owner. Unless you have a dialogue (not a sales monologue) how would you know that the client would really appreciate the Kirby’s power to pick up the finest cat hairs and dander?

Remember when in a selling situation that if you are talking you are not listening and if you are not listening you cannot know in what ways the product you are selling might address any specific problems the client has. This is the key to any kind of sales. The only way you can really engage the customer is if you ask questions and demonstrate that you really care about them.