The Worst Question

No doubt in our sales and management careers we’ve seen it all – great closes, memorable mishaps, inspiring presentations and monstrous mistakes. In this Tip of the Month, we want to highlight the worst question ever asked in a sales call.

Okay, maybe not the worst. The worst is some variation of the question, “So, what do you do here at Ace Co.?” It’s hard to imagine a more insulting question. Yet sadly, it still gets asked (although happily not by any of us).

Here’s a question that comes close, “What are your problems?” This is such a terrible question, as no one wants to have problems. In fact, nothing will shut down a research meeting faster than this question.

For some reason, we’re okay acknowledging that we have challenges and issues. We just don’t want to have problems. Effective variations of this question get asked all the time:

• What are some of the challenges you are facing in your department?
• What issues stand in your way as you work to accomplish your objectives?
• What issues have the potential to keep you awake at night?

This brings out the importance of word choice. Such subtle choices, such as the difference between “issues” and “problems”, can have a major impact on our sales success. More on this later...