To “pay attention” is one of those weird English formulations which non-native English speakers have a hard time understanding. (Where did it come from anyway?) Regardless of how weird it sounds, we can take a lesson from its literal meaning. When we pay for something, we give something up (usually money) to get something back (usually a product or service). In sales, when we “pay attention” we are giving our attention to the prospect in return for valuable information (pain, budget, decision process, etc.). unfortunately, most salespeople don’t pay properly. They don’t really listen to what is being said. Rather they listen for a break so they can start talking. Or they assume they know what they think they heard but they only heard half of it because they were not “paying” with their full attention. So the lesson for today is “pay” with your full attention and you will be rewarded with more and richer information.
