Last week, we kicked off our “Why Sales is Broken” series. This week, we’re delving into one of the most significant reasons: listening.
We all know, theoretically, that listening is important. And most sellers think they’re good listeners. But when you watch them in action, the habitual trumps the theoretical. Old habits kick in. And those habits are costing deals.
Here are three outdated practices that keep showing up—and how to do better.
- Talking More Than Listening
What’s broken: For decades, we trained sellers to control the room. The thinking was: if you can out-talk the buyer, you can out-sell the competition. The problem is, in today’s marketplace, buyers come armed with information. They don’t need you to repeat what they already read on your website.
When reps talk too much, they miss cues about what really matters to the buyer. It creates a disconnect: the buyer feels unseen, and the rep feels frustrated that the pitch “isn’t landing.”
How to fix it:
- For reps: Aim for a 70/30 balance. Buyers should be talking at least 70% of the time in discovery.
- For leaders: Review call recordings with your team and track talk-to-listen ratios. Give coaching feedback not on “what they said” but on “what they heard.”
- Pitching Instead of Understanding
What’s broken: Sales training historically rewarded the perfect pitch, a polished, persuasive, airtight work product of selling aptitude. But while pitches are one-size-fits-all, buyers are not. Too often, reps jump into solution mode before they’ve uncovered the actual problem.
When you lead with product features instead of buyer needs, you not only lose credibility, but you also miss the chance to differentiate. A buyer who doesn’t feel understood won’t trust your solution.
How to fix it:
- For reps: Replace your pitch with questions that show curiosity: “What’s the biggest friction point in your current process?” or “What would success look like in six months?”
- For leaders: Stop measuring success by how well a pitch is delivered. Instead, evaluate reps on discovery depth and quality of questions.
- Following Scripts Instead of Doing Discovery
What’s broken: Scripts are safety nets, especially for new reps. But too often they become crutches. Buyers can tell when you’re reading a list of preloaded questions. It feels robotic.
Sellers who cling to scripts flatten every conversation into the same shape. Buyers disengage, and real insights get lost. Worse, reps don’t develop the agility to handle the unexpected.
How to fix it:
- For reps: Use scripts as a starting point, not a finish line. Once a buyer opens up, follow their lead. Probe deeper. Reflect back what you’ve heard.
- For leaders: Train reps on conversation frameworks instead of rigid scripts. Role-play unscripted scenarios to build confidence in handling curveballs.
The Bigger Picture, The AI Connection
Sales isn’t broken because we lack tools or tech. It’s broken because we’ve undervalued listening and empathy. Buyers want to feel heard, not herded. And that shift requires a cultural reset in how we train, coach, and measure sales teams.
Here’s the good news: AI can help. By analyzing calls and meetings, AI reveals patterns that reps often overlook—such as talk-to-listen ratios, missed buyer cues, and gaps in discovery questions. It doesn’t replace empathy, but it provides sales leaders and reps with the data they need to improve it. At The Sales DREAM Lab, we use AI-powered training to make listening measurable and empathy actionable—so it becomes a repeatable skill, not just a nice-to-have trait.
Until we fix how reps listen, no amount of tech will save sales.
Ready to help your team sell with empathy? Explore how The Sales DREAM Lab can transform your reps into better listeners.
