One Great Sales Question, From TV

Greetings!

One of the best sales questions I've ever heard was while I was watching an Ally McBeal TV show rerun.

In this episode a male attorney was trying to get a date with one of the clients (who looked like an attractive woman but was actually a man--long story)

Anyway, he used a great sales question that caused me to dive for my pad and pen. The woman (man?) kept brushing off his advances, saying things like "I'm not sure," and other non-committal statements. (Just like we hear on calls, right?)

The attorney finally responded, "Is 'I don't know' closer to a no, or a yes?"

What a great question!

It clears up the fuzziness. It gives you something concrete to base your next actions on. Regardless of whether it's the answer you want, it doesn't leave you dangling, WONDERING where you stand.

Here are some thoughts about asking direct questions:

-A decision--yes or no--is better than no decision.

-If I'm going to ultimately get a no, I'd rather save the time and grief and get it today.

-Many people won't volunteer a decision without being asked. So ask!

-Don't associate failure and negative feelings with getting a "no." Save those feelings for not knowing where you stand with someone. Then you find that it happens less.

QUESTIONING IDEAS
-When they need to evaluate a few other proposals or companies: "If you were to make a decision at this point in the process, based on the information you have now, what would you do?"

-To get someone off the fence: "What will happen if you do nothing?"

-To show that fear of making a decision might be unfounded: "What's the worst thing that would happen if you moved
forward?"

ACTION STEP

This is the time of the year when people resolve to start fresh in many areas of their life. So start fresh with your own database. Clean it up a bit.

Pick out 10 prospects you've been nurturing (translation: maybe wasting time with) but haven't had much movement with.
Commit to asking a direct question that leaves no doubt as to where you stand. This isn't pushy, and other professional businesspeople aren't offended by a logical question as to their intentions.