This is the Sales Gravy Podcast. I'm Jeb Blunt, best-selling author of Fanatical Prospecting

SalesEQ, objections, and inked, and I'm here to help you fill up your pipeline, close bigger deals,

and rock your commission check. Welcome back to another episode of Sales Gravy. I'm Jeff Blunt.

On this episode, we're going to spend some time discussing listening and why effective listening is so important to effective sales negotiation. First, though, I'm excited to tell you that my brand new book, Inc. is available right now in bookstores. You can go to Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Google Play, or iBooks, or wherever

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forward slash ink, that's salesgravey.com, forward slash ink, and put in your receipt and you

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In ink, I tell you exactly what to do, exactly what to say, exactly how to plan, and the

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At the strategic level, sales negotiation is like a chess game.

But at the tactical level is like playing poker.

Each party is hiding their emotions behind poker faces in an attempt to obscure the strength of their real hand.

Sometimes they're bluffing, but the key is keeping their cards close to the vest.

The most effective way to get a peek at those cards, though, is to keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

You see, listening builds deep emotional connections with other people. And the more

you listen, the more connected your stakeholder will fill to you. And as this emotional connection

deepens, their trust in you grows and emotional walls begin to crumble. As the walls come down,

the more they talk. And the more they talk, the more they'll reveal, and this gets you below

the surface and lets you see their cards. This is why listening is where effective sales

negotiators earn their stripes. Yet, listening remains the most underappreciated and underutilized

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