Myth: Talk 20%, Listen 80%

What's actually true: In sales calls, top performers talk a bit under half the time and ask good questions; the 20/80 rule has no source.

MythGong Labs, 2017 · analysis of recorded B2B sales calls (company data, not peer-reviewed)

The 20/80 ratio is folklore; Gong's large but non-peer-reviewed call analysis found the best reps talked about 43% of the time, a lot more than 20%.

What the research found

Talking too much is a real problem, but saying nothing is too. Buyers want questions and also useful insight. Balanced back-and-forth beats a fixed ratio.

What to do instead

  1. Ask a question, then really listen.
  2. Share an insight in a few sentences, then hand back.
  3. Avoid long monologues of more than a minute or so.
  4. Record a call to check your share.

What to say

What does a good hire look like for you?

Here's what we see at other seed companies. Does that match your experience?

Avoid

Staying silent to hit 80% listening. Buyers want your view too.

Example

Yash tried to only listen on calls with a dairy chain and the buyer said: tell me what you think. He now shares one insight per question.

Related