Today’s buyers are not being difficult. They are being human. Here is what helps your team become the people buyers actually want to buy from.
Can we all agree that buyers have gotten…interesting?
One minute they’re asking for information, scheduling a meeting, and telling you they’re excited. The next minute they disappear like they just entered witness protection. If you’re leading a sales team, you’ve probably watched your people work twice as hard for half the momentum and wondered what in the world happened.
Here’s the good news: your buyers aren’t trying to make life difficult. They’re being human.
People are overwhelmed. Budgets are tighter. Every decision feels riskier than it used to. Add in nonstop emails, texts, ads, and sales pitches coming at them from every direction, and it’s no wonder people have become more cautious about who they trust. So instead of asking, “How do we teach our team to sell harder?” I’d suggest asking a better question: How do we help our team become the people buyers actually want to buy from?
After more than 40 years working with sales organizations around the world, I can tell you this with absolute confidence: people don’t buy because they hear the perfect pitch. They buy because they trust the person giving it.
Stop Trying to Fill Every Silence
Here’s one of my favorite questions to ask salespeople: “What do you do when the conversation gets quiet?” Most answer, “I keep talking.”
Exactly.
Silence makes salespeople nervous. We think we need to rescue the conversation before it dies, so we explain more, clarify more, add another benefit, and toss in one more testimonial for good measure. Meanwhile, the buyer is wondering if we’re ever going to let them think.
One of the most powerful skills your team can develop is learning to ask a thoughtful question and then actually listen. Not pretend to listen while planning the next response. Really listen. Buyers can feel the difference. When people feel heard, they relax. They share more. Their objections become conversations instead of roadblocks. That’s where trust begins.
People Don’t Buy From Perfect. They Buy From Comfortable.
I’ve watched salespeople lose business to competitors with weaker products, fewer resources, and less experience simply because the buyer felt more comfortable with them.
We spend a lot of time teaching product knowledge, sales processes, and closing techniques, and those things absolutely matter. But if your team doesn’t know how to connect with another human being, all that knowledge never gets a chance to shine.
Likeability isn’t luck, and it isn’t a personality trait. It’s a skill. It’s showing genuine curiosity instead of trying to impress someone. It’s making people feel understood instead of managed. Those are learnable behaviors, and they change everything.
Read the Person, Not Just the Opportunity
The average salesperson walks into a meeting thinking about their presentation. The best salesperson walks into a meeting thinking about the person.
They’re paying attention to energy, body language, hesitation, enthusiasm, and the little signals most people miss. They aren’t mentally rehearsing their next talking point—they’re trying to understand what’s actually happening across the table.
That’s why I’ve spent my career teaching the psychology behind why people do what they do and say what they say. Once you understand human behavior, selling gets easier. Leadership gets easier. Relationships get easier. People stop feeling unpredictable when you finally understand what makes them tick.
Laughter Is a Business Strategy
People often ask why I use so much humor when I speak. The answer is simple: because laughter lowers defenses faster than almost anything else.
When people laugh, they breathe. Their shoulders relax. The room gets lighter. Suddenly they’re listening instead of judging. Comedy has always been my favorite form of therapy because it allows people to recognize themselves without feeling criticized. They laugh, then they think, “Oh my gosh…I do that.” That’s when real change happens.
The same thing happens in sales. Your team doesn’t have to be comedians. They simply have to be real. A little warmth, a little personality, and a little humor can accomplish what another polished presentation never will. People remember how you made them feel.
Please Retire “Just Checking In”
Can we all agree that “Just checking in…” should disappear forever?
It tells the buyer absolutely nothing except that your CRM reminded you to send an email.
Instead, follow up in a way that proves you were listening. Mention something they shared. Send a useful article. Celebrate a milestone. Answer a question before they ask it. Make your follow-up feel personal instead of procedural.
Relationships are much harder to ignore than generic emails.
The Bottom Line
Your buyers aren’t going to become less cautious. The world isn’t going to become less noisy. But the organizations that win will be the ones that stop teaching people how to sound better and start teaching them how to connect better.
When your team understands people instead of simply studying sales, everything changes. They stop trying to convince and start connecting. They stop relying on scripts and start building relationships. That’s when better conversations become better results.
That’s the work I love doing with organizations. Helping people understand themselves, understand each other, and understand the customers they’re trying to serve through practical psychology, real-world strategies, and yes, plenty of laughter. Because people learn more, remember more, and change more when they’re actually enjoying themselves.
If you’re looking for a keynote, workshop, or coaching program that helps your team communicate better, connect faster, and create lasting results, I’d love to help. Contact me today and let’s chat!
Related reading: What 40 years has taught me about sales audiences
