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Know when to stop, but don’t stop short!
April 26th, 2010
Here I go again…… as mentioned before I do a great job of driving my lovely wife crazy with all of these experiences we have at home and how they are related to sales (this is one reason why I truly love this profession, there are a ton of lessons we get out of everyday situations).
Our son loves to “pretend” cook food for us and he is now learning how to become a great “pretend” waiter and take our orders down on his pad of paper which is adding to this interesting experience he is creating for us. Last night I watched something happen, my wife didn’t even noticed but I sure did!
He approaches his customer (mom) and asks her what she would like to eat. Here is how the conversation unfolds.
Isaac: What would you like to eat?
Mom: Chicken
Isaac: What else?
Mom: Potatoes
Isaac: What else?
Mom: Green Beans
Isaac: What else?
At this point in time he is starting to aggravate his “customer” but here is what I noticed.
He did not stop with her first item, he continued to ask two simple words to gain more information. My twisted brain immediately made the correlation to sales. By asking two simple words “what else,” how much more information could you gain from a prospect?
The problem is, when most salespeople hear one problem a prospect may have they immediately want to tell them how they can fix it instead of finding out if they have other problems . You have to know when to stop (so you don’t aggravate your prospect) but also know when to avoid stopping short to allow your prospect to discover all of the ways you may be able to help. Sometimes acting like a little kid can help you gain the information you are looking for!
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Comment by Raquel Richardson
5:26 am
Great post Aaron. Kids do have a way of getting every bit of info out of you. It’s a great lesson. I tend to ask “is there anything else” when I’m talking to others, i.e. friends, clients, prospects, because you’re right, you often get a little bit more info.
Comment by Sheri
7:45 am
That’s why I love sales – I can still be a kid!
I use the “what else” as it really makes them think and I believe the 3rd or 4th answer is their biggest pains. I avoid asking them in a way they can answer “yes” or “no”.
Comment by Aaron Prickel
2:01 pm
I believe we are all little kids in big people bodies! However we have to be careful that we bring the kid along that is helpful (curiosity/questions) instead of the one that is hurtful (wanting to be liked, emotional involvement).
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