Going Fishing

September 8th, 2009

My daughter came in to my bedroom Saturday morning and crawled in bed to give me my morning hug.  She laid there for a few minutes and then asked what we were doing this morning.  I told her that I didn’t have anything planned and that we were just going to hang out at the house all day.  She replied “since you don’t have any plans why don’t we go fishing?”

How many times have you played this game with a prospect?  You know the one that I’m talking about, when they ask you a question that really isn’t the real issue.  That is exactly what my daughter did and I found myself fishing most of the day. Don’t get me wrong I wanted to go fishing with the kids but its funny how she worked me at such a young age. Prospects will play that game all day long if you let them.

If you answer their question with a question they will either restate it or ask the real one.  It really isn’t that hard.  Take my daughter’s question, all I would have had to say was “I don’t know, why do you ask?” She would have asked the real question, “Can we go fishing today?”

This technique comes in handy when you feel that the prospect isn’t being genuine, trying to put you in a box, or trying to group you with other salespeople. Answering a question with a question puts the ball back into their court and the real issues come out.

Chuck Zimmerman

Related Posts

• A Chip on my Shoulder
• Sell Like No Other
• Don’t Spill Your Candy

“Caution! This training is not for everyone! Gimmick? Perhaps.However, this statement certainly got my attention and caused me to investigate the possibility of this sales training program being something other than the same old thing.”

Read the Story