The Art of Empathetic Sales Communication

There’s a theory that if a seller focuses on a buyer’s inner feelings, then they’ll be more effective in closing a deal. This will require you to put your therapist cap on to tap into the customer’s emotions.

My guests, Jack Frimson and Zac Thompson, sales professionals and co-authors of Selling Is Therapy, share their techniques from their latest book. Listen to learn more about how you can start selling like a therapist to close more deals.

Meet Jack Frimson & Zac Thompson

• Jack and Zac are seasoned sales professionals and co-founders of an agency specializing in helping clients book more high-quality appointments. 
• Together, they have worked with hundreds of clients, developing practical, actionable strategies to make sales conversations more empathetic, effective, and rewarding for everyone involved. 

 Why the Therapist Approach?

• Salespeople often default to outdated, aggressive tactics that leave both parties feeling slimy.
• Drawing inspiration from therapy, Jack and Zac discovered that the best sellers act less like “persuaders” and more like thoughtful guides, catalyzing customer self-discovery.

Permission-Based Questions & “Softening the Blow”

• Simply asking before posing tough or blunt questions disarms prospects, making conversations feel safer and more genuine.
• This approach helps navigate tough topics, such as budget or decision-making authority, without sounding confrontational.

Levels of Listening

• Great salespeople distinguish themselves by noticing what isn’t said—body language, hesitations, or changes in tone.
• Calling out the “elephant in the room” (with empathy) opens space for honesty and trust.

The “Test Close”

• Instead of forcing meetings or pushing agendas, the “test close” invites prospects to design the most valuable meeting for themselves (“What would make a call next week worthwhile for you?”).
• This boosts the chances of attended and effective appointments—and prospects are more invested because they helped build the agenda.

The IKEA Curve

• When prospects participate in creating the solution (“If you could design your perfect platform/campaign/vendor, what would it look like?”), They feel a greater sense of ownership and buy-in.
• This technique is especially effective in competitive sales situations and discovery calls.

Low-Stakes Practice & Continuous Experimentation

• Jack and Zac encourage sellers to experiment with these tactics in everyday settings, like at a coffee shop, to build confidence before using them in sales calls.

Letting Go of Attachment

• The healthiest sales approach is one where you’re unattached to the outcome—focused instead on helping, not convincing.
• If you’re struggling with this, evaluate your alignment with the product, company, and your belief in the impact you deliver.

"Softening the blow is when we seek permission before we ask one of those big, big questions." - Jack Frimson.

"You always want to be calling out the elephant in the room. Another chapter of the book talks about the levels of listening.  It shares how salespeople tend to miss the things that aren't being said." - Zac Thompson. 

Resources

Grab a copy of their book on Amazon.

Follow and reach out to Jack and Zac on LinkedIn. If you like more guidance with improving your sales skills, join my Sales Mastermind Class. Thinking about starting a podcast yourself? Learn more about Blue Mango Studios. 

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.

With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.

2.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.

3.  This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.

Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.