Avoiding the Stupid Questions

Telesales expert Art Sobczak recently wrote about stupid questions. Check out these shameful examples from Sobczak. You'll want to examine your sales conversations for stupid questions like these.

Sobczak describes a recent trip to Barnes & Noble in which he was offered a discount card at the time of purchase. When he declined the clerk said, "What, don't you like to save money?"

What Sobczak, and your customers heard, was "What, don't you like not being stupid?"

"These questions force a person to answer the way the questioner wants, otherwise it makes the person feel stupid if he does not respond in that way," says Sobczak. "And, of course, that is not conducive to selling, instead putting the person on the defensive."

Here are some other stupid questions to avoid:

Stupid Question: "If I could show you a way to save money, of course you'd want that, wouldn't you?"

What is really heard: "If I could show you a way to avoid being stupid, of course you'd want that, wouldn't you?"

Stupid Question: "How important is money to you?"

What is really heard: "How important is it to you to not be stupid?"

"The main point here is that using stupid questions is, well, stupid," says Sobczak. "What to do instead? Go back and look at how these stupid questions are used. Come up with alternatives to accomplish your goal."

"For example, if we're trying to point out someone will save money, we need a series of questions to help us, and them, see the problem, the costs of the problem, and the result of the solution."

Because, of course you don't want to use stupid questions, do you?

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. www.BusinessByPhone.com

SalesDog Quick Tip

It's the beginning of a brand new year. If you're like most salespeople, you've probably made a resolution to work harder to achieve your goals. While we encourage you to do this, we also want to stress that working smarter is even better than working longer. You'll work smarter using this quick tip from sales expert Jill Konrath.

"Always debrief your sales calls," says Konrath. "This is the only way you can get better."

Ask yourself:

• What went well?
• Where did I run into problems?
• What could I do next time to get even better results?

Implement this strategy, and you'll get more effective results.

Today's tip comes from Jill Konrath, Chief Sales Officer of Selling to Big Companies.