There’s an old saying that you have two ears and one mouth and you should use them in direct proportion.
I think there’s no truer place for this than in sales.
So many salespeople talk endlessly. They rattle on about features and benefits. They expound on how their product or service is going to change your life. They tell you everything about what they are selling the first time they meet you.
But they never bother to find out if you actually NEED what they are selling. Or they don’t stop long enough for you to ask actual buying questions. Or they sell you, and then talk themselves right back out of the deal because they annoy you so much.
Salespeople: hear me, and hear me now. Stop talking. Say the minimum. Ask lots of questions and actually listen to the answers. If you are the one doing most of the talking in a meeting, you are doing it wrong.