5.5.2011

What To Do When No One Listens.

You’ve got a product to sell, a quota to hit, and a business to grow.

And if you’re halfway motivated, you’re beating the streets making short work of the task of spreading the word.

Spreading your word.

Which is great if you are talking to yourself.

Because what you find out fast is that not everyone is interested in the conversation you want to have with them.

In fact, it can become one of those “people cross to the other side of the street” sort of things. People don’t just want hear your story.

They have the own story.

And yours just comes in a far second.

So what do you do?

If you’ve read the dozen most recent books on selling, you might think that “talking louder”, “talking faster”, or “talking over your customer” might be good strategies for getting prospective buyers to listen to you.

But like mud pies, broccoli, and too much wasabi on your sushi, shoving misguided chit-chat down your customer’s throat is just a painful process.

(And completely unnecessary.)

Here’s a few alternatives for you:

1. Talk quieter.

When you get quieter, so do the alarm bells sounding off in the back of your customer’s brain. It’s silence not chaos that makes you valuable to your customer. And the silence is what gets you noticed. Hush up and watch the magic happen.

2. Care more

Caring isn’t what you say, it’s how you say it. It’s what’s you feel it. It’s an attitude of gratitude and kindness that the customer picks up on. And it’s not any special combination of words. It’s the passion you share.

3. Stay focused

Sometimes you just need to keep saying the same thing over and over and over again. You don’t get louder and you don’t get angrier, you just get more determined. You keep sharing and caring, day after day after day.

4. Stop trying

There comes a time when you need to stop talking. Ask yourself – are you petty, selfish, annoying, or just a plain waste of time. If so, you need to stop talking. You’re taking up space. Get a new conversation.

It’s tough when no one listens.

You start to question everything you thought you knew.

And some times that exactly what you need to do.

But just remember that the greatest people the world will ever remember weren’t listened to.

Being amazing can just mean you’re ahead of your time.


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  • http://twitter.com/PamBurzynski Pam Burzynski

    Dan, you’ve got a Fan. Absolutely love this Edgy Wisdom. I especially like CARE More, STOP trying — beautiful, thanks!

  • http://twitter.com/PamBurzynski Pam Burzynski

    Dan, you’ve got a Fan. Absolutely love this Edgy Wisdom. I especially like CARE More, STOP trying — beautiful, thanks!

    • http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

      WOW. Thanks for the kind words, Pam.

      We do need to all care a little more. We would amaze ourselves at the outcome…

  • http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

    WOW. Thanks for the kind words, Pam.

    We do need to all care a little more. We would amaze ourselves at the outcome…

  • http://FindingWhy.com/ Joel D Canfield

    Yet another great sales lesson from parenting: yelling doesn’t work, but watch how they pay attention when you speak in a calm, low voice.

    It’s another version of zigging when others zag. Right now, all the loud voices on MyFaceTwit are screaming for attention. I’m in real rooms with real people, and none of them are reading TwitBookSpace while they’re talking to me. As long as I’m listening, I have their attention.

    • http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

      The truth is best served quietly… :-)

      Dan

  • http://CanfieldOfDreams.com/ Joel D Canfield

    Yet another great sales lesson from parenting: yelling doesn’t work, but watch how they pay attention when you speak in a calm, low voice.

    It’s another version of zigging when others zag. Right now, all the loud voices on MyFaceTwit are screaming for attention. I’m in real rooms with real people, and none of them are reading TwitBookSpace while they’re talking to me. As long as I’m listening, I have their attention.

  • http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

    The truth is best served quietly… :-)

    Dan

  • Chad

    Great post Dan! I especially agree with #4 with one small change. After they shut up, instead of getting a new conversation, they need to first listen to a conversation from someone smarter than them, take notes, and stop acting like the ass that knows it all.

    • http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

      Even better…. Love the idea, Chad.
      This whole selling process has gotten way out of hand. Instead of helping anyone, we’ve become a bunch of arrogant jerks just serving up the lastest widget we’re paid to promote. And dare anyone confront us about our behavior. After all, it’s all about us any way. :-)

      Dan

  • Chad

    Great post Dan! I especially agree with #4 with one small change. After they shut up, instead of getting a new conversation, they need to first listen to a conversation from someone smarter than them, take notes, and stop acting like the ass that knows it all.

  • http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

    Even better…. Love the idea, Chad.
    This whole selling process has gotten way out of hand. Instead of helping anyone, we’ve become a bunch of arrogant jerks just serving up the lastest widget we’re paid to promote. And dare anyone confront us about our behavior. After all, it’s all about us any way. :-)

    Dan

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  • http://twitter.com/roz_bennetts Roz Bennetts

    One of my favourites Dan.

    • http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

      Thanks, Roz.  Glad it connected with you.

      Dan

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