I see many, many sales calls in my work as a consultant and former CRO. I see one behavior all the time that I work to help my clients improve.

They’re sailing along through their sales pitch, and then pause, and ask, “Any questions on anything so far?” (Or some permutation of that “any questions” question.)

Why is that a problem, Lex? I hear you cry. What could be wrong about asking for questions?

Because I’ve seen so many sales calls, I can often predict what the response will be when the salesperson asks “Any questions so far?” Very often, the prospect hearing the pitch will respond with something like “No… Just—” and then start a random question.

They literally start by saying no, they don’t have questions yet, and then make up a question. And that question is either unnecessary or something you’re going to answer in your pitch anyway.

What you’ve done by asking if there are any questions is put the prospect on edge a bit. Uh… Should I have a question? Have I been paying enough attention? Is it bad that I don’t have a question? What should I ask?

I’ve written before about how asking questions can make people nervous. We don’t want our prospects nervous or uncomfortable. When we put them on the spot by prompting for a question, we often lose them a bit — to their own thoughts, as they wonder if they should have had a question, should have asked a question, should have asked that question… It’s not great.

And the truth is, we ask for questions for both benevolent and selfish reasons: We want to answer questions if you have them! Also, asking for questions is a great way to pause, catch our breath, and segue to the next part of our demo! It’s prospect-serving and self-serving, in theory. But in practice, I’ve seen it unsettle many, many prospects.

Here’s what to do instead: The first time the itch to ask if there any questions so far arises, say this: I want this call to be useful for you, so feel free to interrupt me with questions at any time. Or: I know I’m throwing a lot at you, so if you ever have questions, you can toss them out whenever, I don’t mind.

Now look, many of us are annoyed when we get interrupted while on a roll in a sales pitch. Tough. Say this anyway. You’re opening the door for questions, without prompting for any.

A few minutes later, your “any questions” instinct might kick in again. Instead of asking if there are questions, when you feel that insatiable urge to ask if questions exist, just repeat yourself: “And let me just say again, feel free to jump in with questions any time; otherwise I’ll keep going.”

This gives the people you’re pitching the freedom to ask questions, but does it without putting them on the defensive, on the spot, or on anything else unpleasant.

I’ve helped a lot of folks learn to close more deals with advice like this. If you’re interested in working with me, get in touch at lexfriedman.com/consulting.