ning workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance froMany participants in my programs ask how to deal with people who appear to be seeking information and nothing more. In many environments these individual’s are called time wasters. Time wasters come in every shape and form but they usually possess a few consistent characteristics – they ask a continuing stream of questions, take up loads of our time, and seldom end up buying anything.

What is particularly interesting about these situations is that many time wasters don’t set out to be that way. It is usually our fault that this happens because we don’t control the sales process. And in many cases, we become the time waster.

Most sales professionals know they are supposed to ask questions to learn about their customer’s needs but I have learned that the majority of sales people tend to be more comfortable responding to questions rather than asking them. Here is a simple fact…the person who asks the questions is the one in control of the sales process.

I have conducted hundreds of sales training workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance from

onsistent characteristics – they ask a continuing stream of questions, take up loads of our time, and seldom end up buying anything.

What is particularly interesting about these situations is that many time wasters don’t set out to be that way. It is usually our fault that this happens because we don’t control the sales process. And in many cases, we become the time waster.

Most sales professionals know they are supposed to ask questions to learn about their customer’s needs but I have learned that the majority of sales people tend to be more comfortable responding to questions rather than asking them. Here is a simple fact…the person who asks the questions is the one in control of the sales process.

I have conducted hundreds of sales training workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance fro

usually our fault that this happens because we don’t control the sales process. And in many cases, we become the time waster.

Most sales professionals know they are supposed to ask questions to learn about their customer’s needs but I have learned that the majority of sales people tend to be more comfortable responding to questions rather than asking them. Here is a simple fact…the person who asks the questions is the one in control of the sales process.

I have conducted hundreds of sales training workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance fro

that the majority of sales people tend to be more comfortable responding to questions rather than asking them. Here is a simple fact…the person who asks the questions is the one in control of the sales process.

I have conducted hundreds of sales training workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance fro

ning workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance from the buyer or customer. But that means it’s too late. Now it will appear that you are trying to justify your product, service, price, etc.

Sales people hear this, but it seldom sinks in. Here is a personal example. After reading one of my weekly sales tips a sales person emailed me (for the second or third time) and said he had been focusing on his needs rather than mine in his previous correspondence. He presented a couple of good points so I agreed to a telephone conversation. When we connected he immediately launched into a ten-minute monologue about his company and its services. At this point it still wasn’t clear what he wanted from me so I asked. He went on to say that he wanted me to endorse his product to my clients and newsletter subscribers. I then stated that my target market is mostly specialty retailers and asked how his product would help them. His reply, “Oh, it won’t.”

He had now just wasted almost 15 minutes of my time – valuable time that could have been used to work on one of