Sales Joke of the Day (May 20) Questions.

Bored during a long flight, an eminent scholar leaned over and woke up the sleeping salesman next to him to ask if he would like to play a game.  “I’ll ask you a question,” the scholar explained, “and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5. Then you ask me a question, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll pay you $50.”


When the salesman agreed to play, the scholar asked, “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” Flummoxed, the salesman handed him $5. “Ha!” said the scholar. “It’s 238,857 miles.  Now it’s your turn.”


The salesman was silent for a few moments. Then he asked, “What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?”


Puzzled, the scholar racked his brains for an hour–but to no avail. Finally he took out his wallet and handed over $50. “Okay, okay, what is the answer?” the scholar asked.


The salesman said, “I don’t know,” pulled out a $5 bill, handed it to the scholar, and went back to sleep.


Moral of the story:  Even when half asleep the average salesman with just street smarts still drives more revenue than the best educated scholar with book smarts and all the degrees money can buy!  All through school we were trained to come up with correct answers.  But as any sales professional will tell you, asking the best questions is a far more valuable skill!

"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."   -  Voltaire

Sales Joke of the Day (December 17) The Wedding Guests.

The salesman, his wife, and their five year old son were all invited to their cousin's wedding.   It would be their son's first wedding and they thought it would be a great learning experience for him. 


During the ceremony, the five year old son, whispered to his mother, "Why is the bride wearing all white?"


"Because, by wearing white she represents purity and hope for the future," answered the salesman's wife.


"Mom," their five year old son whispered again, "why is the groom wearing black then?"


"Shush now.  We must be quiet and show respect for the ceremony," his mother replied.


Later that evening, at the reception, the salesman's son, undaunted, still had questions.  With his mother away from the table, he seized upon the opportunity to get some answers from his father.


"Dad, why does the bride wear nothing but white?"


"Well son, most kitchen appliances come in white," answered the salesman.


"Dad, how much does it cost to get married?"


"I don't honestly know the answer to that one yet son.   Your mother and I were married over ten years ago now, and I'm still paying.   Why don't you wait to ask me that question until the day that you get married?  I'm sure I'll have a much more accurate answer for you by then."


Moral of the story.    True sales professionals know that in order to be successful at sales, they have to be perpetually curious and perpetually asking questions.   If one contact within the organization can't answer your question, or doesn't give you the answers you are looking for, simply ask someone else.    


"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."           -     Walt Disney

Sales Joke of the Day (November 15) The Librarian.

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