In business – no matter which product or service you sell – intuition is the great differentiator. Listening to and trusting your intuition in the sales process separates you from the pack, as most people are not listening to theirs. By listening to your intuition, you build more connection and trust – creating a win-win result with your prospect. Yet developing intuitive skills for sales is rarely talked about in training and mentoring.

The Key Ingredient

While sales metrics can be tracked better than ever, it’s the relationship with your buyer that will always be the key ingredient in winning sales. There is no cutting-edge CRM replacement for learning to listen to your intuitive nature and sensing what is happening in the relational space between you and the buyer. When you begin to tune into the signals and cues in your environment, you are learning to use your emotional intelligence to pick up on the social dynamics and body language your prospect is communicating.

The key to tapping into your intuition is slowing down.

Slowing Down

So often, salespeople get caught up in getting the buyer to cross the finish line – “the close.” The problem with this is that you are no longer in the present moment with the prospect; you are off into the future. Yet all the data you need to know is available in the present moment. Right now is where the sale happens.

For example, when you slow down, breathe, and take a pause from your script or what you think you should say next, what are you observing with the person in front of you? Hesitation? Do you pick up something in their body language? Are they excited and present with you? Are their eyes glazed over?

And what do you notice in your own experience? Are you bored? Feeling engaged and curious? Is your attention all on yourself and the facts about your product, or are you really focusing on them and what they are wanting and needing? Did you even take a moment to truly ask them this question about what they want and need?

Deepening Connection

Teaching your salespeople to slow down during the sales conversation allows their intuitive intelligence to catch up with them. When you slow down and get really present with the person in front of you, their whole story and their whole world open up for you. When you put full attention on what they are saying, what they are not saying, and how they are saying it, you open up your awareness to not just the content, but to the context of where they are coming from.

This is where you join them in what they truly want and need. This is where sales happen.

When you slow down, your intuition finds you. You are able to take in more information and access your subconscious, which is where intuition lives. From here, you might even be surprised at the level of detail you start to notice in the quality of the conversation – or something about the person in front of you that has you wanting to learn more. And this is where powerful, open-ended questions guide you and the prospect to discovering what they truly want and need.  

And, when a buyer feels like you actually are listening and that you actually care, the relationship builds.

To build a better connection with the person in front of you, practice listening to your intuition and instinct on what needs to be added to or excluded from the sales conversation. When you can slow down and become more aware of their reactions and responses – as well as your own – you are on your way to more authentic and powerful relating, which is the key to sales.