https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Sales & Marketing


Four-microphones

The 4 Voices in a Sales Conversation

  • Written by Brad Stoller
  • November 13, 2018
The most successful sales meetings are conversations where the salesperson listens to understand and quiets their competing inner voices.

Sales is a blend of persuasion and negotiation, and most sales veterans are familiar with the push and pull dynamic of engaging a prospect. As in a poker game, we intuitively recognize that we have to account for the cards on the table as well as the player seated behind them. In any dialogue, there is a blend of spoken and unspoken communication, and good salespeople learn to carefully balance the dynamics of having a conversation but also reading between the lines.

That delicate dance, however, isn’t what great salespeople to do. If you want to move from good to great, to capture those high-value MSP clients, you need to play a different game entirely.

Chris Voss, former FBI hostage negotiator and bestselling author of “Never Split the Difference” (HarperCollins Publishers; 2016), argues that any conversation between two people is compromised of four voices. This is a bit like playing the cards as well as the player, but the perspective that Voss describes is much more actionable than a poker metaphor.

According to Voss, the four voices in a conversation are:

  • Your spoken voice;
  • Your internal voice;
  • The prospect’s spoken voice;
  • The prospect’s internal voice.

When you’re making a sale, you likely have an inner dialogue racing through analysis as you speak to your prospect. That inner voice might be preparing the next step of your sales process, it might be questioning what the prospect really meant by a statement or it might be thinking of another topic entirely, distracting you from the conversation at hand.

The prospect has a similar inner dialogue chattering in the background as they talk. Sure, some cards are on the table, but each person spends a significant amount of energy giving attention to a voice that only they can hear.

A great salesperson recognizes this and deliberately works to quiet the inner voices at play on both sides. As long as those inner voices are competing for attention, the actual conversation between you and your prospect will be hindered. You don’t have to think five moves ahead or outsmart your prospect as though they were a poker opponent. Instead, you have to create a conversation where both parties can be fully engaged in what each other has to say, which means that both sides are:

  • Willing to give each other space to speak;
  • Listening to understand instead of listening to respond;
  • Confident in the trustworthiness of each other.

To reach this point, make a prospect feel heard and the rest will follow. There is some art to that, but the secret is to exercise self-restraint. For example, many salespeople actively pursue wedge or pain points (as they should), but they treat them as points of attack. When a prospect mentions a pain, sirens go off in their brain as they mobilize an aggressive pitch to exploit that pain. Prospects can sense that they are being pounced on, and the inner dialogue on their end ramps up in tandem.

A great salesperson will wait. Instead of attacking, the salesperson will nudge the prospect to dive deeper with a gentle, “Can you tell me more about that?”

As soon as that happens, the prospect feels heard. You didn’t try to manipulate them or push your agenda. You gave them a stage where they can truly explain themselves. In this moment, their inner voice can quiet, and the prospect often goes on to explain—in his or her own words—why they need someone like you.

Listening might not sound like an ultra-secret sales technique, but how you listen can be incredibly powerful and can set you apart from your competition. Whether they consciously recognize it, prospects notice when a salesperson works to hear them because so few salespeople take the time or effort to do it.

Brad Stoller is working to change how MSPs look at their sales processes. He authors articles, provides video instruction for MSP sales tips, and holds sales-related webinars to help MSP owners, managers and sales personnel. As the national director of business development at The PT Services Group, Brad has interviewed hundreds of MSP owners to develop a new way of focusing on quality, first-time appointments and sustainable, exponential growth. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Best Practices Sales & Marketing Strategy

Most Recent


  • ThreatLocker Zero Trust World Day 2 2023 Feature
    Zero Trust World 2023: ThreatLocker Unleashes Ops Threat-Detection Tool
    ThreatLocker also will be rolling out a new portal.
  • Layoffs
    Telecom-IT Layoff Tracker 2023: Cisco, RingCentral, Microsoft, 8x8, Sophos, More
    The onslaught of layoffs is bleeding over into this month.
  • Job Cuts
    January's Tech Layoff Scourge: Deep Dive Into Channel Impact
    We break down the seemingly daily layoffs impacting various companies doing business in the channel.
  • Cloud Merger
    Bam Boom! Pax8 Buys Cloud Company to Enable MSPs with Microsoft Dynamics
    The purchase will help partners automate clients’ business processes. Rob Rae will play a role, too.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Cloud Phone
    AT&T to Offer Up to 1 Million Customers Cisco Webex Calling
  • edge computing
    'Challenging Results' for MSPs in Channel Futures' Exclusive Quarterly Survey
  • Security shield on digital background
    VMware Security Connect Focused on Redefining Security, Increasing Threats
  • Fortune 500 2021 logo
    AT&T, Microsoft, Verizon, More Tech, Telco Companies Make Latest Fortune 500

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

May 1, 2023 - May 4, 2023

Channel Partners Europe

June 13, 2023 - June 14, 2023

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Galleries

View all

Zero Trust World 2023: ThreatLocker Unleashes Ops Threat-Detection Tool

February 2, 2023

Telecom-IT Layoff Tracker 2023: Cisco, RingCentral, Microsoft, 8×8, Sophos, More

February 2, 2023

January’s Tech Layoff Scourge: Deep Dive Into Channel Impact

February 2, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

How to Break Through the Growth Ceiling

February 1, 2023

5 Things to Look for in a UC Partner

January 31, 2023

The Benefits of Hiring an Investment Bank

January 30, 2023

Webinars

View all

Next-Generation MSP Platform: The Building Blocks for Your Business

February 15, 2023

How To Boost Your Business With White-Label UCaaS

February 28, 2023

Security Secrets of the MSP 501: How to Be a Cyber Leader in 2023

December 15, 2022
  • 1

White Papers

View all

6 UCaaS Reseller Challenges and How Real World Businesses Solved Them

February 1, 2023

Frost Radar: North American UCaaS Market, 2022

February 1, 2023

The Complete Guide to White-Label UCaaS for Reseller Success

February 1, 2023

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 117: Cato Networks, Video Killed the Podcast Stars

Retired Astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly Previews His CP Expo Keynote

December 21, 2022

Fusion Connect Eyes Future with Intrado UC, Managed Network Customers

September 23, 2022

RingCentral Focused on Hybrid Work, Microsoft Teams, Other Integrations

September 23, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Day 2 of #ZTW: @ThreatLocker unveils new Ops threat detection tool. dlvr.it/Shs93Y https://t.co/dAnj6IUiF2

February 3, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@broadvoice appoints a channel vet as new program leader. Before joining the company, he had risen through the ran… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

More activity over at @Pax8 (which just hired @RobTRae): the #cloud marketplace firm has purchased @BamBoomCloud.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@SamsungMobile launches #GalaxyS23 phones, new #GalaxyBook3Ultra at Samsung Unpacked. dlvr.it/ShrW8G https://t.co/DloltwdMsE

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

The new partnership between Channel Futures and @ITExchangeNet is poised to benefit the partner community.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@JuniperNetworks announces transition to “solution building outcomes," addresses pain points around quoting, prici… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

Day 1 of #ZTW23: @ThreatLocker hopes attendees walk away smarter about #zero trust and cybersecurity.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

6 UCaaS Reseller Challenges and How Real World Businesses Solved Them dlvr.it/ShpCHp https://t.co/Av6eJmYnnF

February 1, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X