"To say the meeting got off to a slow start would be an understatement..."

Many years back, I had travelled to Munroe, Wisconsin in the US, to visit the headquarters of The Swiss Colony.  This company is one of the legends of mail order and online catalogue marketing, and still mails tens of millions of catalogues every year.  After some perseverance, I had secured an appointment with the head of marketing and his team to learn how they do what they do, explaining I was researching for a business venture back home.

To say the meeting got off to a slow start would be an understatement.  Perhaps they wondered WHO this guy from the antipodes was, and why they should even give up their valuable time to tell ME their secrets.  And I don’t blame them.

But just when they were glancing at their watches, something changed the whole dynamic of the meeting.  It was a tide-turning ‘event’.

I asked them why they’d dropped a certain feature out of the inside front page of their catalogue.

It’s as if they all froze.  Then the head of marketing turned to me and said, “You know, that has been a subject of heated debate around here.  Some of us battled to keep it, some insisted it had had its day.  But you know, you’re the first person who has picked up on that.  What do YOU think?”

From that point on, they leaned in and asked if I’d mind going through other pages with them. They confided with me on their strategy.  And I was invited to tour closed off areas of their operation. I walked away with far more than I’d ever expected.

The instant change in mood was SO profound, it has stayed with me all these years since.

As far as I can see it, the meeting which they had agreed to, was initially an imposition on their time.  A PR exercise perhaps.  But when I asked a question that got right inside their heads, the walls came crumbling down.  And the more questions I asked, the more we became collaborators with a common purpose.

I fervently believe that business people just don’t ASK enough questions.  Or more to the point, they don’t ask the RIGHT questions.

Asking the right questions might seem simple.  But there’s a trick to it. It’s...

PREPARATION

You see, before I travelled to The Swiss Colony, I had studied their current and back issue catalogues like an archaeologist deciphering the Rosetta Stone.  I had studied what I thought was great about their marketing, and where I felt their weaknesses were.

Which meant, when I got in the room with them, I suspect I knew a lot more about their business than a lot of people they meet who are trying to SELL to them. And they responded positively.

Most businesses just don’t teach their people the awesome power of preparation and of asking questions.  It’s that simple.

How many times have you had someone trying to sell something to you and you know in the back of your mind that they know nothing about your needs? 

Their interest in YOU is superficial.  Their true agenda is to SELL something to you.  Often they don’t ask you questions at all.  Or if they do, they’re not listening, but rather just thinking about what they’re going to say next.

Selling … in ANY form … has to be about asking the right questions, which means diligent preparation before the interaction.

True professional selling is about ‘helping people make informed decisions to buy’.

And that can ONLY occur when you know what they want … and you’ve figured out how you’re going to give it to them.

Sounds ‘motherhood and apple pie’ … but it IS the key to earning more business, at better margins, and building long term business relationships.  Let me say it again …

Most businesses just don’t teach their people the awesome power of preparation and of asking questions. Those who do enjoy the fruits flowing in abundance from the 'cornucopia' of business-waiting-to-be-had.  Yes, especially in the toughest times.

Unitl next time...

Chris Newton