Mastering the Art of Small Talk for Salespeople

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In today’s Follow Up:

• Master small talk 🗣️ 

• Sales tip of the day 🧠 

• Sales news around the web 📰 

• Sales jobs, LinkedIn & a meme 😂 

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Mastering the Art of Small Talk

Oh, small talk...

It’s like brushing your teeth every day. Not your favorite thing, but a necessary part of the routine. 

For those of us who weren’t born with the gift of gab, chit-chatting can feel awkward and uncomfortable.

But it’s a necessary evil in our sales calls.

Imagine jumping straight to "Tell me about your pain points" without any warmup. That wouldn’t feel great.

Small talk is your on-ramp to deeper and more meaningful conversations with your prospects.

It's like stretching before the workout. It gets everyone warmed up and ready for the main event.

When done correctly, small talk can shift from surface-level chit-chat to building rapport and trust.

Here’s 3 tips to crush your small talk;

1. Kick It Off With a Compliment 🏆

Avoid the typical ‘So where are you calling from?’.

It’s boring and shows that you didn’t do your research before the call.

Instead, try leading with an authentic compliment. This makes your prospect feel good and gives you a common ground to build rapport.

• I love your office set up. It looks super clean on camera.

• I just read your LinkedIn post and loved your point about XYZ…

• I see your team is growing like crazy right now. Well done!

A sincere compliment sets a positive tone and gives your prospect a reason to like you.

Although being ‘likable’ isn’t required in sales - it makes things a lot easier. 

2. Make Them the Main Character 🎥

World-class small talkers are more interested than interesting.

During your call, your prospect should be the star of the show, not you.

Ask questions about them and their interests. Listen more than you speak.

• How’d you end up at {company name}?

• I saw you worked at {previous company}, how’d you like it there?

• I'm curious, what's your favorite part about working at {company name]?

People's favorite subject? Themselves.

Lean into that.

3. Questions That Are Fun to Answer 🤩

Most sales reps default to dry, formulaic questions that put prospects in interview mode. That’s boring.

People remember you by the way you make them feel, not the specific questions you ask.

Switch things up by asking questions that are fun to answer, and make them think:

• What are you most looking forward to this year?

• If you woke up CEO tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d do?

• Forget work, what’d you do this weekend?

Small talk should feel like a fun conversation, not an interrogation.

Make it feel fun.

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Checking In On LinkedIn

Maybe some things don’t belong on LinkedIn… 😅 

Sales Meme of the Day