When a Question is Not a Question

Prospects often ask questions throughout the buying process. Sometimes these questions are simple, other times complex. The most common reason prospects ask us these questions is because they have an interest in our product or service, and they want to learn more about it or about us. But there are other reasons these questions are raised, too.

Beware of questions asked…

…to fill time. When I was a sales representative, I had a customer (a husband) ask me a series of interesting questions during my sales appointment in his home. His wife couldn’t be at the appointment, and I had to run the appointment according to my manager, so I had to make the best of this so-called “one legged” appointment. To make a long story short, he ended up not buying from me. I was able to find out the reason for his decision, and this was it: He wasn’t interested in my product (not just from me and my company, but from any supplier).

As it turns out, Mr. Dutiful Husband was following the directions his wife gave him, which were to spend two hours talking to me about my product, even though he didn’t want to invest in this product.

…to be polite. In Minnesota, we have a phenomenon that has been called Minnesota Nice. This is when someone is seemingly kind to another person, but not genuinely so. In Minnesota, salespeople have to be careful because people will show interest in a product even if they’re not interested in it; they do this to be nice and neighborly and to not offend. Then, when they don’t buy, these Minnesotans don’t come right out and say, “I’m not interested.” Instead, they say, “We’ll have to think it over, you know.”

Fifteen phone messages later, you finally find out that they had no intention from buying from you because the customer built the garage addition himself.

In my travels, I’ve learned that Minnesota Nice could also be called Colorado Nice or California Nice or Florida Nice or maybe even Winnipeg nice (albeit maybe to a lesser extent than we experience here in Minnesota). Some customers have trouble behaving assertively, so they behave nicely instead.

…to shop you. Wise competitors will shop you to find out more about your product, your operations, and your pricing. I’ve caught many competitors shopping me because red flags were raised by their [too] many questions.

…because they enjoy your company. I’ve seen lots of prospects who enjoy talking to salespeople. They really get into it. When they find someone they like at car dealership, they’ll chit-chat, and they’ll do it for a long time. They enjoy the attention, the fun, the humor, and the connection with another human being – even if they aren’t going to buy their product.

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