…loses.
For years, I have filled the silence with incessant chatter. (The psychology of why I’ve been an enthusiastic blabber mouth will come out in my memoir. If Tim Tebow can write one, so can I.)
When I got my first real job (selling air, aka Radio Sales) my boss told me: “Just shut up already. Ask your customer the question, then wait for an answer. The first one who talks, loses.”
Truer words were never spoken…no pun intended.
Listening is hard. Talking is easy. Listening is work. Especially when you listen to shit you have trouble understanding. (You, IT guy. I’m talkin’ about you.) But when you REEEAALLLY listen, it puts you in the power chair.
You’re thinking. They’re talking. You’re learning. They’re losing.
Being a better listener makes people like you because YOU are paying attention to THEM. Therefore, listening makes you popular and highly regarded. It means making better money, making better friends and in the end, making smarter choices.
Let us all shut up. Now.
Stop Clucking!
Tags: entrepreneur, learning to listen, listening, sales. selling, small business, talking too much
*nod*