Sales Communication Skills: How to Actually Talk to Humans

Look. Sales communication skills are basically what separate closers from… everybody else. That’s it. That’s the line.

And I’m being real with you here - most reps sound like they’re reading off some laminated card their boss made in 2003. Maybe 2002. It’s painful. Like, physically uncomfortable to sit through.

Here’s the thing nobody wants to admit: your product features? They don’t matter much. They really don’t. Especially if you sound robotic when you’re trying to explain them to actual living humans. We’re absolutely drowning in “professional” corporate-speak right now. LinkedIn thought leadership. Those 47-email sequences. And don’t even get me started on those AI voice messages everyone’s experimenting with. (Seriously. Stop.)

But when someone just… talks normal? Like a regular person having a regular conversation? It’s almost startling.

The secret’s not hiding in your slide deck. It’s whether you can chat with someone for ten minutes without making them want to fake a dropped call.

What Are the Most Important Sales Communication Skills?

Active listening. That’s number one.

And no - I don’t mean that thing where you nod along while internally rehearsing your response. I mean actually listening. Like, hearing the words they’re saying and processing them. Wild concept, I know.

Most reps are just sitting there rehearsing their “killer close” or whatever garbage they picked up from that Tuesday webinar. And meanwhile - MEANWHILE - the customer literally just told them their exact problem. Said it out loud. With words. But did anyone hear it? Nope. Because nobody’s actually listening.

The best salespeople I’ve ever met? They almost never talk. Weird, I know. But think about it for half a second. When you’re the one talking, you’re learning exactly zero things. And when you’re learning nothing, you’re basically just guessing. Throwing stuff at walls. Hoping.

But also - and this is huge - you’ve gotta be clear. Drop the jargon. Please. I’m begging you. If you start talking about “synergistic paradigms” or “leveraging holistic ecosystems” or any of that nonsense, people’s eyes glaze over. Immediately. Just tell them what the thing does. Use normal words. The ones you’d use at a bar. (Well, maybe slightly more professional than bar words. But you get it.)

Nobody ever closed a deal because they sounded smart. They closed it because they were understood.

Case Study: The Robot Who Found His Soul (True Story)

So, there was this guy John I worked with. Super smart guy. Knew every single spec of the product. Could probably recite the user manual in his sleep if you asked him to. But holy hell, he was robotic. His calls? Technically perfect. Every box checked. Every slide covered. Absolutely miserable to watch.

One day he’s pitching to this prospect who’s clearly having the worst morning of his life. You could see it in his face on the Zoom call. And instead of launching into slide one like he always did, John just… stopped. He said something like, “You look like you’ve had a day already. Want to just complain about stuff for five minutes before we do this boring business thing?”

The prospect literally laughed out loud. They spent ten minutes talking about airport coffee and delayed flights and how conference rooms always smell weird. By the time they got to the actual pitch? The deal was basically done. The guy trusted Mark because Mark treated him like a person instead of a quota number.

That’s it. That’s the whole secret. Treat people like people. (Why is this so hard for everyone?)

How Can I Improve My Sales Communication?

Record yourself.

I know. It sucks. Nobody likes it. Your voice sounds weird. You’ll cringe. Do it anyway.

Because here’s what happens when you listen back: you’ll catch every single “umm” and “like” and “you know” that you didn’t realize you were saying. That weird upward inflection you do? You’ll hear it. The parts where you sound kinda desperate? Those too. The moments you talked way too fast. Or kept talking when you should’ve just stopped. It’s brutal. But it works.

And here’s another thing - get comfortable with silence. This one’s hard. Most salespeople panic when there’s a quiet moment. They feel like they need to fill every second with words. More words. So many words.

But silence? That’s where the magic happens. Ask a tough question and then just… wait. Don’t say anything. Count to ten in your head if you have to. The prospect will fill that silence. And usually, they’ll fill it with the truth. The real reason they’re hesitating. The actual problem they’re trying to solve. You just have to give them space to say it.

By the way, if you want to get even better at this whole “connecting with humans” thing, check out Storytelling in Sales: A Guide That Works because it goes deep on this stuff. Stories + calm presence = you win.

What Is the 70/30 Rule in Sales Communication?

This is supposedly the golden rule. Everyone knows about it. Almost nobody actually does it.

Listen 70% of the time. Talk 30%.

Sounds simple, right? It’s not even close to simple. We love hearing ourselves talk. We want to flex our product knowledge. Hit them with that line we rehearsed in the car. But here’s the truth (it’s corny, whatever): prospects don’t care what you know until they feel like you actually care about their situation. Cheesy? Yes. True? Also, yes.

When you ARE talking - that precious 30% - make it count. Ask open-ended questions. Not yes/no questions. Those are useless. Ask “how” and “why” and “what would happen if.” Get them talking about themselves. People LOVE talking about themselves. And if you let them do that? They’ll basically sell themselves on your product. It’s almost unfair how well this works.

How Do You Handle Objections Effectively?

Most people hear an objection and their whole-body tenses up. They get defensive immediately. Start arguing. “Well ACTUALLY, our price is super competitive if you calculate the ROI over eighteen months and consider the cost savings—”

Stop.

Don’t do that. Ever. You’re not their debate opponent. You’re supposedly there to help them figure something out.

When someone says “it’s too expensive” or “I don’t think this will work for us,” lean INTO it. Say something like, “Yeah, I totally get that. Budget is a real thing. Tell me more about how you’re thinking about this.”

You want to be on the same side of the table as them. Metaphorically. (Or literally if you’re in person, I guess.) You’re solving a puzzle together. Not fighting each other.

If they say it’s too expensive, they’re not actually saying it costs too much money. They’re saying they don’t see the value yet. That’s on you. But you’ll never figure out the real issue if you’re busy being offended that they didn’t immediately say yes to your incredible offer.

Stay curious. Not defensive.

Why Is Non-Verbal Communication Important in Sales?

Even on Zoom, people know if you’re distracted. They can tell if you’re looking at your second monitor. Or checking Slack. Or responding to texts. They feel it. And it’s disrespectful, honestly.

Your body language says everything your mouth doesn’t. Sit up. Look at the camera (not the screen - the actual camera). Look like you want to be there. Because if you look bored, they’ll be bored. And bored people don’t buy things.

Tone of voice? Massive. Absolutely massive. If you sound like a used car salesman from a 1990s movie, they’re hanging up. If you sound like you’re reading from a script, they’re checking out. You want to sound like a knowledgeable friend. Someone who knows their stuff but isn’t being weird about it.

People buy from people they like and trust. That’s the whole game. Everything else is details.

How Do I Follow Up Without Being Annoying?

The “just checking in” email needs to die. It’s the worst thing we’ve collectively decided is acceptable. It adds zero value. ZERO. It’s just you saying “hey remember me, I want your money” in a slightly more polite way.

Don’t do that.

Instead, send them something useful. “Hey, I saw this article about [their specific problem] and thought of you.” Or, “I was thinking about that challenge you mentioned with your Q2 rollout and had another idea.”

Make it about them. Not you. Not your quota. Not your pipeline. THEM.

If you’re always providing value, they won’t mind hearing from you. But if you’re just pestering them for updates, you’re gonna get ghosted. And honestly? You’d deserve it.

For more on building actual long-term relationships instead of just pestering people, take a look at Objection Handling in Sales: A Practical Guide. It’s genuinely helpful. (I don’t just say that about everything. Some stuff is trash.)

Final Thoughts on Keeping It Real

At the end of the day, sales communication skills really just come down to being a decent human. Who listens. That’s the whole thing.

That’s it. That’s literally the tweet.

Don’t overthink this stuff. Don’t chase “perfect” because perfect is boring and makes people suspicious. Be messy. Make mistakes. Say “I actually don’t know that, let me find out and circle back” instead of making something up and praying they don’t Google it later. The honesty thing? It works way better than you’d think.

Be honest. Be yourself. Be someone you’d want to talk to if you were on the other side of the call.

Stop pitching. Start connecting. Stop trying so hard to be a “salesperson” and just be… a person. A knowledgeable one. But still a person.

It’s less exhausting this way. Trust me.

Now go have some actual conversations. The kind where you listen more than you talk. The kind where you treat people like humans instead of leads. You might be surprised how much easier this whole sales thing gets when you stop trying so hard.

And maybe - just maybe - you’ll actually enjoy your job a little more. Crazy thought, right?