Listen Up! – Communication Skills are Vital to a Good Salesperson.
Communication isn’t theoretical fluff or a soft skill at all. It’s a practical sales tool. Well, when you know how to use it, that is.
One of the strange things about communication skills, particularly when it comes to sales, is that they are often thought of as a soft skill. They really aren’t, in fact they could be one of your sharpest tools when it comes to effective sales.
Communication for sales
Communication is the kind of topic that gets regularly mentioned in training, it is stuffed into leadership books, and it’s flashed up in management meetings, often backed up by quotes from an apparently endless set of studies. It seems to be a sort of distant thing that is only understood by academics in dusty universities or psychologists poring over data.
The truth is that communication isn’t theoretical fluff at all. It’s a practical sales tool. Well, when you know how to use it, that is. When it is done right, it becomes a key factor in building relationships and getting great sales results.
If you doubt that last paragraph, think back to that meeting we have all had when you talked and talked, but left knowing 100% that you didn’t get the deal. Or that day when you drove home, wondering why the prospects you met all went quiet and the meeting fell flat.
Listening is the most underrated sales skill
We often assume that great salespeople are great talkers. Yes, they talk well, but the best salespeople usually also make the best listeners. Active listening means being fully present in the conversation, taking the time to understand what the customer is really saying, and responding based on their needs, not your needs… and certainly not on the needs of your script.
My advice is this: if you want to really talk to a customer, get them to talk first, then just shut up and listen!
That’s when the real information comes out. You hear not just what they want, but also why they want it. You uncover the blockers, the internal politics and the pain points. Then, when you’ve got that insight, your response will be more relevant, more personal, and far more effective.
Good listening isn’t about nodding politely while you wait for your turn to speak, either. It’s about tuning in and asking follow-up questions that go deeper. It is about genuine curiosity and empathy. That’s where real value is discovered and where trust starts to build.
- Key point: Active listening uncovers what really matters to your buyer.
Clarity beats clever every time.
Occasionally, I see salespeople who rely on being clever or think that having superior technical knowledge is enough to get the sale. Sorry, it isn’t, far from it. When you’re too clever, you confuse. When you’re too technical, you lose people. When you talk like a brochure, you sound like one and lose the listener’s trust.
Clarity in communication means stripping your message back to what matters at that point in time. It’s not about you, it’s about what the problem is, what the solution is, and why the buyer cares about it. If your prospect doesn’t understand how you can help them, they’ll just move on.
Buyers are busy, and usually they're under pressure to make the right decision quickly. Clear language and outcome/benefits-focused communication help people see value in the purchase. When they see that value, you will get a “yes” quicker.
- Key point: Clear communication helps buyers make faster, better decisions.
Empathy builds trust, so wear their shoes
Empathy means putting yourself in the buyer’s mindset and using that to communicate in a way that reflects their concerns, goals, and pressure points.
When a prospect feels like you “get” them, you build trust. It’s easy to get their business or their job role, but understanding their world, their day-to-day challenges, requires a bit more. It requires that you understand what those things mean to them. That’s when real rapport happens.
So, for the client to trust you, you need to understand them.
So instead of diving straight into features and benefits, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve heard. Show them you understand their issues with simple paraphrasing, for example. It will not only tell them you are trying to help, but it will also help you to solve their issue. They get the right result, and you get the sale, all because you took the time to understand the customer's world.
- Key point: Understanding your buyer’s world makes you a trusted advisor, not just a salesperson
Make it Easy to Say "Yes"
There is a big communication mistake being made if anyone working in sales thinks that ‘pressure selling’ is where high-volume sales come from. I have said this many times, in many training sessions,
‘Sales come from solving the clients’ problems’.
A good sale is one where you didn’t pressure the buyer to make your preferred decision; it is one where you got to the right decision, together. One where you used effective communication to guide them, to recommend solutions, to create clarity, and to reduce doubt. Effective communication here is all about connecting the dots. You show how your solution meets their needs. Where you can, you anticipate their concerns. You help them see a clear path from where they are now to where they want to be. That sort of frictionless sale is the one that repeats again and again.
Key point: Good communication reduces friction and helps buyers feel confident in their decision.
Personality models are worth investigating
There are plenty of personality models out there: DISC, Myers-Briggs, Insights and others. There are also a lot of different versions, from highly academic to over-simplified ones. So, are they any use?
Well, yes, they are, as long as you use them correctly. Used right, they can be practical tools that help you understand communication with your customers. Most importantly, they work in both directions.
Spotting key personality traits in your customers will help you tailor your tone, pace, and level of detail. A clearer understanding of your customer's personality type means you can tailor your response. That, in turn, makes you easier to talk to. This is clearly going to be an advantage in a sales environment.
BUT…
There is an often-overlooked opportunity as well. While it is clearly important to understand your customers, it is far more important to understand yourself. Getting to grips with your own communication style helps you see where you may need to change your approach to facilitate communication. So, if your personality type means you are naturally direct, you might need to slow down and listen more. This would be particularly true if you were with a cautious client. If you fall into the Analyst type, recognising that means should lead you to bring more energy to the conversation to match fast-paced decision-makers. The permutations are endless, and they all lead to better communication, but you need to know yourself to make them work.
It isn’t about becoming someone you’re not. It’s about reading the room. It’s about making small adjustments, so you are communicating with people in the best way.
- Key point: Knowing your own communication style helps you connect faster.
Communication is both a skill and a strategy
In sales, communication isn’t just something you do; it’s something you utilise effectively. It’s not about suddenly becoming some supernaturally charming character from a TV show; it’s about using the right skills, at the right time, to help your buyer make the best possible decision.
So, listen more. Speak clearly. Show empathy. Guide the conversation. Adapt your approach, and you will see the benefits.
These aren’t vague ideas or academic discussions either. They’re strategic moves that lead to better outcomes such as more trust, shorter sales cycles, higher closing rates and, possibly most importantly, the kind of stronger client relationship that creates a mutually beneficial outcome.
A mutually beneficial outcome is one where the customer has solved their problem, and you made the sale that solved it for them.
