From Selling Power’s How Much to Present to Your Customer:
Experience shows that to the human mind there is something peculiarly satisfying about seven pieces of information. Seven questions, seven benefits, seven anything define the optimal attention span for most people, regardless of education or intelligence. Is it coincidental that we talk of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the seven fat years and the seven lean years in the Bible, the seven days of the week, the seven primary notes on the musical scale, and the seven subordinates who represent the ideal span of control for their manager?
Did you know that? I didn’t. Further into the article:
Some customers are practiced at setting you up to overwhelm them and to bore them. They ask you quickly for all sorts of information they don’t want or need or even understand. When you play their game and flash everything on their interest screen at once–boom!–you’ve blown it. They are overwhelmed or bored, and you’ve lost them. What went wrong? You failed to qualify them. You failed to present your answers slowly and in detail and to confirm that each point is truly significant to them. You failed to ask opinion questions.
Listen to what he or she asks you for. Recognize that other salespeople responded to the requests and probably spent a lot of time doing so. Briefly present the information the customer needs as a matter of courtesy; then move on to fill his or her interest screen with other items that may really make a difference.
You notice how so much of selling requires empathizing, listening and adjusting? This is one of the subtle, critical points about good sales hires. The stereotypical fast-talking sales rep is not a lock for a successful sales hire. Show up and throw up is not a selling strategy. Integrating a strong listening ability with 7 selling points, pain probes, value propositions or the like is the better strategy.
The article is an interesting read if you have the time.