About Author
Joseph Griffiths is a Presales Educator and Coach dedicated to helping solution engineers, technical sellers, and sales leaders achieve greater success.
My career spans enterprise technology sales, solution architecture, and leadership roles where I built and implemented complex cloud and data center solutions. Along the way, I earned elite certifications such as VMware VCDX-DCV and VCDX-CMA, which give me the technical depth to match my business expertise. This combination of skills allows me to coach sales professionals on not just the how of technology, but more importantly the why — what truly matters to customers and drives business impact.
Through my technical sales coaching and presales training programs, I focus on building confidence, sharpening customer discovery, and creating measurable business value in every conversation. I help sales teams and individual contributors uncover customer priorities, frame solutions effectively, and communicate with impact. My approach blends proven frameworks with real-world experience to equip sellers to move deals forward faster and build stronger customer trust.
In a high-stakes sales environment, we like to pretend we are dealing with rational actors making data-driven decisions. We aren’t. We are dealing with biological machines driven by ancient chemistry.
When a prospect becomes defensive, silent, or frustrated, their “logical brain” (the prefrontal cortex) has effectively gone offline. They have entered a state of Amygdala Hijack. In this state, your ROI spreadsheets and feature comparisons are invisible to them. You cannot sell to a brain that is on fire.
To move the deal forward, you need a circuit breaker. You need Tactical Labeling.
The Mechanics of the Label
A label is a neutral observation of a prospect’s emotional state. It is not an accusation, and it is not a question. It is a mirror. The most effective labels start with three specific phrases:
The Rule of “I”: Notice the absence of the word “I.” If you say, “I hear that you’re worried,” you have centered the conversation on yourself. By using “It seems like…” you remain a neutral observer, giving the prospect space to breathe and lowering their defensive barriers.
Labeling vs. Probing
Most sales training teaches us to ask “Why?” when we hit resistance. However, “Why” is an interrogation—it forces the prospect to defend their position, which only reinforces their emotional barricade. Labeling does the opposite:
The Power of the Negative Label
The most advanced application of this is labeling the “Elephant in the Room.” If you know you’re about to deliver news that may be poorly received, label it before they can.
By naming the negative, you diffuse it. It shows you have the empathy to understand their perspective, which is the foundational stone of any professional relationship.
Silence: The Solvent
After you deliver a label, you must do the hardest thing in sales: Shut up.
Count to five in your head. Let the label sink in. In the silence, the prospect’s brain will work to fill the void. Because you haven’t attacked them, they will often talk themselves out of their own emotional peak. They will clarify their position, and in that clarification, you will find the path back to a rational discussion.
Conclusion
Empathy isn’t “being nice.” In a complex sale, empathy is a competitive advantage. It is the tool that clears the emotional clutter so you can get back to the strategic work of building the future for your clients.
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