Greetings!
I don't care what anyone says: There are dumb
questions.
I called up my favorite local pizza joint to get
my regular two-slice-and-a-drink lunch special.
The guy asked, "What would you like to drink
with that?"
"Coke," I answered.
When I arrived and gave the same guy my name
at the counter, he took my money and again asked, "What would you like to drink with that?"
Letting it pass as a simple oversight, I again
told him I wanted Coke. He retrieved the slices,
and asked me--you guessed it--"What would you
like to drink with that?"
Busting out into laughter, and looking for the
camera, I said, "I still want Coke."
_______________________________________
SALES POINT
This is simple, but obviously not always
followed: LISTEN to the answers. Sometimes
we're so concerned about what we'll say
or do next we ask a question and don't
pay attention to the answer. Dangerous,
to be sure.
_______________________________________
Later that day I was getting ready to whip up a nice
dinner, and realized I forgot to get green onions. No
problem. I hustled to the grocery produce section,
took a plastic bag from the dispenser, and selected
a nice bunch.
The high-school-aged checkout boy rang them up,
gave me my change, handed me the bag of onions
and said, "Would you like those in a bag?"
Me: "Well, they're already IN a bag."
Him: (a bit embarrassed) "Oh, yeah."
_______________________________________
SALES POINT
Beware of those questions that are habitual
and part of some jobs, but perhaps not always
applicable. It's easy to mindlessly ask certain
questions, even when not appropriate.
_______________________________________
After the first day of a customized Telesales College
I did for a client, I hunted down a nice restaurant for
a quick bite (I just noticed all of these examples are
food-related!).
A nano-second after the server set down my food,
my waitress appeared, and before I could even
lift a utensil said, "How is everything?"
"I don't know yet. It LOOKS ok."
_______________________________________
SALES POINT
See the previous one above.
_______________________________________
And finally, same restaurant, same waitress.
Five minutes later. Same question. "How is
everything?"
Me: "The food is great, but the flies in here
really are annoying." (I had to brush them
away from the food every few seconds. It was
a nice enough looking place, but someone must
have kept a door open for a long time.)
Her: (laughing) "Oh, I guess I should get you
a fly-swatter."
Then she walked away.
Did I expect a free meal? No, but certainly
a more concerned response, one having to do
with an explanation or cure would have been
appropriate.
_______________________________________
SALES POINT
Be prepared to DO SOMETHING with the
answers you get. Ask questions for a
reason, and then be prepared to act on
the answers, especially if they're answers
you'd rather not hear.
_______________________________________
See an Entire Article on Avoiding DUMB QUESTIONS
See my article "Dumb Questions=Dumb Answers."
at http://www.businessbyphone.com/dumbqst.htm
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"There is no failure except no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, nor really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose."
Ken Hubbard
Continue having your best week ever!
Art
About the author:
Art Sobczak, President of
Business By Phone Inc., specializes in one area only: working
with business-to-business salespeople--both inside and outside--designing
and delivering content-rich programs that participants begin
showing results from the very next time they get on the phone.
Audiences love his "down-to-earth,"entertaining style,
and low-pressure, easy-to-use, customer oriented ideas and techniques.
He works with thousands of sales reps each year helping them
get more businesses by phone. Art provides real world, how-to
ideas and techniques that help salespeople use the phone more
effectively to prospect, sell, and service, without morale-killing
"rejection." Using the phone in sales is only difficult for people who use
outdated, salesy, manipulative tactics, or for those who aren't
quite sure what to do, or aren't confident in their abilities.
Art's audiences always comment how he simplifies the telesales
process, making it easily adaptable for anyone with the right
attitude.
Contact Info
Art Sobczak
Business By Phone Inc.
13254 Stevens St.
Omaha, NE, 68137
402-895-9399
ArtS@BusinessByPhone.com
www.businessbyphone.com
