(By Pat Bryson) Recently, I did a sales training exercise where a participant had to have a two-minute conversation with a partner, asking questions about an object in their hand. The catch? They couldn’t ask a “Yes/No” question. It’s harder than you might think – unless you get by with a little help from your friends.
The poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling wrote, “I keep six honest serving men, they taught me all I knew. Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. I learned this in journalism class many moons ago. These six “friends” are the journalists’ secrets to getting good information. Good information is the secret to creating on-target campaigns that will serve both our clients and us.
The Phase Two needs analysis meeting is usually where the information flow begins. Information flow should continue whenever we are talking to our clients. I call it “going into vacuum cleaner mode”. We should always be sucking up information and storing it for future use.
Selling today is not about what we TELL people but what we ASK people. Become acquainted with our honest serving men/women. You will be rewarded with higher revenue and happy clients!
Happy selling!
Pat Bryson is the CEO of Bryson Broadcasting International, a consulting firm that works with sales managers and salespeople to raise revenue. She is the author of two books, “A Road Map to Success in High-Dollar Broadcast Sales” and “Successful Broadcast Sales: Thriving in Change” available on her website. Read Pat’s Radio Ink archives here.
