Listen first, speak second

Perhaps the two most important things salespeople can understand is:

1. The information in their own head is not as important as the yet-to-be-mined information in their prospect’s head

2. Knowing how to talk little enough and listen long enough, to be able to mine that gold

The lesson is similar for small business owners who’ve gone to a lot of trouble and expense to hire smart employees. We already know what we know; we need to know what’s in the heads of the members of our brain trust. We...