7-Second Thoughts May 7, 2023

Mansplained on a sales call

It’s easy for the tables of a sales call to get turned.

Your prospect gets on the zoom.

Ideally, you start with a question

Which is your prospect’s cue to answer it.

This serves 2 purposes:

  1. It keeps you in control of the conversation
  2. And keeps your prospect talking

Which can

Unfortunately

On occasion

Morph into your prospect explaining your job to you

Or as they say in my hometown

“Telling you how the cow ate the cabbage.”

See if this helps:

Try asking questions that aren’t too open-ended

What are your goals?

And instead

Structure your questions in such a way

That has the both of you working on a problem

That requires your prospect’s collaboration

And knowledge of their business

So that you can provide them with a deliverable

That will make them want more

From the person

That made them feel

Like a rockstar.

I’m here,

Kevin

NOTE: I write these emails in a way that gives them a nice tidy ending. Admittedly, this issue does not always have as tidy of an ending as I’d like. If you feel like you’re being unfairly treated on a sales call (Have you been injured on a sales call? Call 1-800-ASK-KEVIN so I can sell you something ????) by all means, reply to this email and I will share any and all manner of practical stuff I’ve picked up over the years.

P.S. For an even better perspective, you might reach out to Sales Trainer Extraordinaire, author of “How Good Humans Sell” and my close friend and mentor Catherine Brown ????

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