The other day I was inquiring about purchasing some services for my company. The sales representative on the other line was doing everything right. He responded in a timely fashion to my inquiry, and tried to contact me by phone and email. When I returned his call I could barely tell about my needs before he would change the conversation to talk about him personally. This is a common mistake amongst sales people (even me), They just don\'t know when to stop talking. That is why I started a sales blog, so I can chat there any time I want!

From a customer point of view they want you (as a sales person) to listen to their pain, needs and wishes. They want to feel like you understand them and that you care about them. This is hard to do when you switch the subject to talk about yourself. Remember, prospects arn\'t calling you because they want to make a friend, they need to purchase something. Now this doesn\'t mean that you don\'t build a relationship with the prospect. Take an overwhelming interest in the prospect and their life. Make them feel important and use their words and situations when you talk. This helps them realize that you have not only heard what they have said but also are processing it.

If a prospect takes a interest in you or your company and asks questions, answer them only in a way that either compliments the prospect\'s needs or identifies with the prospect personally. Make your answer short and return the conversation to the talk about the prospect. This can be really hard to do and you\'ll have to discipline yourself. You may not even aware of how much you are talking about yourself during your sales presentations. Think of it this way; when you\'re talking about yourself, your not talking about your customer.

Some of us have an internal need to be heard or to be a wealth of information. That\'s okay, There\'s no problem with that. This is one of the reasons I write on a sales blog. It can be very therapeutic and relaxing. It also can be a huge benefit to other sales professionals how may be able to take meaningful information for the content of the blog. Regardless of where you let loose your knowledge it should not be done in force while prospecting to a customer.