There’s a specific second before you ask for the deal where most people speed up instead of slowing down. Larry’s model runs the opposite way: slow down right before the ask, not after it. A long exhale in that second does something a rushed breath doesn’t, it takes the edge off your voice before it takes the ask off your lips.
This is where the pen-drop close actually lives: you make your point, set the pen down, exhale, and let quiet do the rest of the work. The exhale isn’t decoration, it’s what keeps the ask from sounding like a plea. Larry’s rule here is simple: ask for the paid gig, not the follow, and a calm ask lands as confidence instead of pressure.
House money is what makes the exhale possible in the first place, since there’s nothing underneath the ask that’s screaming to be answered yes. Without that cushion, the exhale turns into a held breath, and a held breath is audible even when you think it isn’t.
Watch for the pause right before Larry asks for the deal in this clip, it’s longer than most people would risk. That patience is the whole technique, not a warm-up to the technique.
Before your next ask, take the long exhale on purpose instead of skipping straight to the words. The ask lands the same either way, but only one version sounds like you expected a yes.
Details: Watch the pause before the ask
#PenDropClose #TheAsk #Web12