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."

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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."

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SALES POINT

See the previous one above.

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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.

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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.

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See an Entire Article on Avoiding DUMB QUESTIONS

See my article "Dumb Questions=Dumb Answers." at http://www.businessbyphone.com/dumbqst.htm

Continue having your best week ever!

Art

*About the Author: Art Sobczak works with thousands of sales reps each year helping them get more business by phone. He provides real world, how-to ideas and techniques that help salespeople use the phone more effectively.

Visit Sobczak's Web site.