By
Simon Hazeldine
Most salespeople think deals are won in the pitch.
They’re not.
They’re won, or lost, in the first 90 seconds.
Before your slides.
Before your proposal.
Before your pricing.
Because in those first moments, the buyer’s brain is making a rapid, unconscious assessment:
Is this relevant to me?
Is this worth my time?
Can this person help me?
If the answer is unclear, the conversation never truly recovers.
You might still talk.
You might still present.
You might still follow up.
But the momentum is gone.
And without momentum, decisions stall.
The Neuroscience of the Opening
The human brain is designed to conserve energy.
It filters aggressively.
When a conversation begins, the brain quickly decides whether to engage or disengage.
If it detects relevance, clarity, and potential value, attention increases.
If it detects ambiguity, self-orientation, or low relevance, attention drops.
Multitasking begins.
Emails get checked.
Phones get glanced at.
This is not rudeness.
It is biology.
And it is why the opening of your sales conversation matters more than most people realise.
Where Most Sales Conversations Go Wrong
Listen carefully to how many sales meetings begin.
“Let me tell you a bit about our company…”
“We’ve been in business for…”
“We work with organisations like…”
This feels safe.
It feels professional.
It feels logical.
But it is also the fastest way to lose attention.
Because none of it answers the buyer’s primary question:
“What’s in it for me?”
When you start with yourself, you increase cognitive effort for the buyer.
They have to work out relevance.
And when the brain has to work too hard, it disengages.
What Elite Sellers Do Differently
Elite sellers do not “ease into” meetings.
They engineer the opening.
They understand that the first 90 seconds are not about sharing information.
They are about establishing three things:
Relevance
Credibility
Direction
And they do it quickly.
For example:
“I understand your priority this quarter is reducing cycle time without increasing headcount. I’d like to share two ways we’ve seen organisations address that.”
In one sentence, they achieve multiple outcomes:
They show understanding of the buyer’s world.
They signal experience and insight.
They set a clear direction for the conversation.
Most importantly, they answer the question:
“Why should I pay attention?”
The 90-Second Framework
If you want to consistently create strong openings, use this simple structure:
1. Context: Show You Understand Their World
Start by demonstrating awareness of their situation.
This could be based on:
• Industry trends
• Company priorities
• Previous conversations
• Known challenges
For example:
“I know one of your key priorities this year is improving delivery speed without increasing cost.”
This immediately reduces uncertainty.
The buyer feels understood.
2. Relevance: Connect to What Matters
Next, link your conversation to something that matters to them.
Not in general terms but in specific, meaningful terms.
For example:
“We’ve seen many organisations struggle with this as complexity increases, particularly when scaling operations.”
Now the conversation becomes personally relevant.
The brain shifts from filtering to engaging.
3. Direction: Set the Agenda
Finally, provide clarity on where the conversation is going.
For example:
“I’d like to walk you through two approaches that have helped similar organisations reduce delays while maintaining quality.”
This creates structure.
It reduces ambiguity.
It gives the buyer confidence that this conversation has purpose.
Why This Works
This framework works because it aligns with how the brain processes information.
It:
• Reduces cognitive effort
• Increases perceived relevance
• Creates psychological safety
• Establishes authority without arrogance
And crucially, it creates early momentum.
When the opening is strong, the rest of the conversation becomes easier.
When it is weak, everything that follows becomes harder.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
A weak opening does not always result in an obvious rejection.
More often, it leads to subtle disengagement.
You hear phrases like:
“Send me some information.”
“Let’s revisit this next quarter.”
“We need to think about it.”
These are not objections.
They are symptoms of low engagement.
The decision was not made in your favour.
It simply was not made at all.
And in sales, no decision is often the worst outcome.
Practical Opening Scripts
Here are three examples you can adapt:
Scenario 1: Operational Efficiency
“I understand one of your priorities is improving efficiency without increasing cost. We’ve seen similar organisations face challenges as complexity grows. I’d like to share two ways they’ve addressed this.”
Scenario 2: Risk Reduction
“I know managing risk is becoming increasingly important in your environment. Many organisations we work with are seeing new challenges emerge here. It would be useful to explore how others are mitigating this.”
Scenario 3: Growth and Scaling
“As you scale, maintaining consistency often becomes more difficult. We’ve helped organisations navigate this transition, and I’d like to show you what’s worked.”
Notice what these have in common:
They do not push.
They position.
They do not assume.
They explore.
They do not focus on the seller.
They focus on the buyer.
The Leadership Opportunity
For sales leaders, this is one of the highest-leverage coaching opportunities available.
Most leaders spend time reviewing:
• Pipeline
• Forecasts
• Deals
But very few review how meetings start.
Yet this is where performance is shaped.
If the opening is weak, the rest of the conversation is compromised.
If the opening is strong, the probability of success increases significantly.
So instead of asking:
“What happened in the deal?”
Start asking:
“How did the conversation begin?”
Better still:
Role play the first 90 seconds.
Refine it.
Standardise it.
Because consistency in openings creates consistency in outcomes.
The Discipline Behind the Advantage
The 90-second advantage is not about charisma.
It is not about personality.
It is about preparation.
It requires:
• Thinking about the customer before the meeting
• Identifying what matters most to them
• Structuring your opening deliberately
This is not complex.
But it is disciplined.
And discipline is what separates average from elite.
Final Thought
You do not win trust at the end of a meeting.
You win it at the beginning.
You do not earn attention over time.
You earn it immediately.
The first 90 seconds are not a warm-up.
They are the moment that defines everything that follows.
So the next time you prepare for a meeting, do not just think about what you will present.
Think about how you will begin.
Because if you get the opening right, everything else becomes easier.
And if you do not, everything else becomes harder.
That is the 90-second advantage.
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About the author
Simon Hazeldine works internationally as a revenue growth and sales performance speaker, consultant, and coach. He empowers his clients to get more sales, more often with more margin.
He has spoken in over thirty countries and his client list includes some of the world’s largest and most successful companies.
Simon has a master’s degree in psychology, is the bestselling author of ten books that have been endorsed by a host of business leaders including multi-billionaire business legend Michael Dell and is co-founder of leading sales podcast “The Sales Chat Show”.
He is the creator of the neuroscience based “Brain Friendly Selling”® methodology.
Simon Hazeldine’s books:
- Neuro-Sell: How Neuroscience Can Power Your Sales Success
- Bare Knuckle Selling
- Bare Knuckle Negotiating
- Bare Knuckle Customer Service
- The Inner Winner
- How To Lead Your Sales Team – Virtually and in Person
- Virtual Selling Success
- How To Manage Your People’s Performance
- How To Create Effective Employee Development Plans
- Virtual Negotiation Success
