A slight pause in your voice before sharing with the customer your price or a key item gives what you’re saying more meaning and value.
If you know how to read music, you’ll know this from the short rest that precedes a key note. This is a way many composers are able to highlight a key part of their music by framing it with silence.
This same technique works very effectively when communicating with people.
The power is it draws the customer into you more. Even more important is it gives the customer the sense that what you’re sharing with them is of major importance and you’re saying it just to them.
As you are about to deliver your price, pause for a second and then state your price. Key is to make sure you are giving them eye contact and your voice is firm. If you don’t have a firm voice and good eye contact, the pause you give will be seen as a sign of weakness.
The power of this technique is it not only works in person, but also on the telephone. Yes, you can argue about how they can’t see you, but in that regard, the silence you give is almost that much more powerful. Since the customer can’t see you, they have to rely on your voice for clues as to what you’re saying.
Try this technique first with an existing customer during a meeting. Watch how they respond to your silence. After you have had a chance to try the approach a few times and see the reaction, you can them move on to try it with new customers.
As you use it, remember the key is eye contact and a firm voice. When you combine those two with the pause, the impact can and will be powerful.
Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
3 Responses
Mark, I think that in most areas of our personal life there is a tendency to pause for effect. The common phrase I hear is “Well, let me tell you . . . ” The well is always followed by a pause.
Your comments on a business presentation are correct. I’ve often heard a “quick” or a “low talker” price both of which tell me that it is not the real price. Same is true for key items of the product or service – the pause always precedes the important information.
The importance of this post is the importance of listening, not hearing a presentation or proposal. Make me listen by how you voice the presentation, otherwise I’m likely to just hear it.
have a question on a different topic. what is best way to position a sales deadline. as in getting a security deposit that takes an apartment off the market to other buyers.
tx-mike
@ mike b….
Below are a couple of examples of what you could say in a situation like this:
“I know this is the apartment you would like but until we have a security deposit management won’t allow me to keep somebody else from getting it.”
“The only way we can hold this apartment for you is with a security deposit.”
“We are getting a lot of interest in the apartment and if you want it, we’ll need a security deposit to keep someone else from getting it.”
Hopefully these examples will give you a couple of ideas. I’d be interested in knowing how you come out.
thank you for commenting!