Sellers: Ask, don’t tell

It’s hard to get an appointment with qualified prospects. And when you do get a hard earned appointment, you don’t want to waste the opportunity.

I get that.

But if I’m the prospect, I don’t want to hear everything there is to know about your product or your company during our first meeting.

I don’t want you to give me every little detail.

I want to know a little about your company – just enough to gauge your viability.

I want to know a little about your products – just enough to understand why you think I might benefit.

I want to know a little about how you’ve helped other companies – just enough to see if you’re for real.

But mostly I want to do the talking. I want you to ask me questions – and not stupid ones either. Questions that no one has asked me before. Questions that get me thinking.

I can tell more by what you ask me than by what you tell me. At this point in the sales cycle, I don’t really care about you. I only care whether you care about me.

 

Tagged as: Appointment, First Meeting, Prospects, Sales Cycle, Viability