Ask the question

Are you a sales person? Do you spend your days in front of customers?

Next time you meet with a prospective customer, check out how much you talk versus how much you let them talk. Then decide if you are a Sales Professional or an order taker.

More than anything, your prospective customer wants to be heard. They want you to ask them questions that will help them describe the problems they are facing. They want to tell you how badly they need your help. They want to tell you their dreams and visions.

If you are an order taker, you can wait for nothing more than the chance to tell the customer all about what you are selling. You want and need to talk. You don't ask questions. You talk.

As a Sales Professional, your job is to ask the questions that will help the prospective customer tell you what they need. The who, what, when, where, why, and how questions from many angles are the ones that make the difference. Then when they are really done telling you what they need (and only then), you get the opportunity to describe how your solution will help the prospective customer see a clear and easy path to achieving that state.

Are you a sales person? Do you want to be an order taker or a Sales Professional. It is in your hands.