The librarian was fast asleep at three o'clock in the morning
when the phone rang. The salesman on the other end of the line
asked: "What time does the library open?"
"Nine o'clock." replied the librarian bleary-eyed." "And what's the idea of calling me at home in the middle of the night to ask a question like that?"
"Not until nine o'clock?" asked the salesman, disappointed.
"No, not until nine o'clock!" repeated the librarian angrily. "Why do you want to get in before nine o'clock anyway?"
"I don't want to get in," replied the salesman. "I want to get out!"
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to succeed at sales not only do they have to make a lot of calls; but the calls they make need to at the right time of the day and the call needs to be of value to the prospect. If you consistently call at the wrong time of the day, asking the same old question like, "Are you ready to buy yet?" the prospect will just consider you annoying rather than considering you for their business. If you aren't adding any value to the situation, you'll never be able to get into the account; instead, you'll find yourself permanently locked out.
"Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers."
- Tony Robbins
"Nine o'clock." replied the librarian bleary-eyed." "And what's the idea of calling me at home in the middle of the night to ask a question like that?"
"Not until nine o'clock?" asked the salesman, disappointed.
"No, not until nine o'clock!" repeated the librarian angrily. "Why do you want to get in before nine o'clock anyway?"
"I don't want to get in," replied the salesman. "I want to get out!"
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to succeed at sales not only do they have to make a lot of calls; but the calls they make need to at the right time of the day and the call needs to be of value to the prospect. If you consistently call at the wrong time of the day, asking the same old question like, "Are you ready to buy yet?" the prospect will just consider you annoying rather than considering you for their business. If you aren't adding any value to the situation, you'll never be able to get into the account; instead, you'll find yourself permanently locked out.
"Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers."
- Tony Robbins
