Unpopular opinion: The "5 second rule" in sales is outdated nonsense

I was talking with my neighbor Mike (runs a used car lot in Phoenix) and he told me he stopped timing his responses years ago. He said that rushing to close actually tanks trust because people can smell the desperation. Ever since I stopped counting seconds and started letting silence hang there, my close rate jumped from 1 in 8 to almost 1 in 3. Has anyone else found that ignoring the old sales playbook actually works better?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_gonzalez110d ago

Yeah that awkward feeling goes away after the first few times you do it. People actually respect silence way more than they respect a rushed pitch. Just wait them out and watch how often they end up filling that quiet space with their REAL objections or buying signals.

cole_murphy10d ago

Silence is ALWAYS a power move. Let them feel the weight of it.

theajohnson10d ago

So are you saying you just sit there and let the buyer squirm until they speak first? I've been curious about that approach but worried it would come off as awkward or rude. Did it feel uncomfortable at first trying to break that old habit of jumping in to fill the silence?