Secret weapons: Open-ended questions and listening

Joe Smith, a salesman with ABC Industrial Supplies, called on a prospect, the Wagner Chemical Co., in January. He met with the company’s purchasing agent, Allison Stevens, who spent twenty minutes with the visitor. No sale. Two months later, Angela Jones, another sales professional at ABC, called on the same company. She, too, met with Allison Stevens for twenty minutes. But the following day, Wagner Chemical signed a long-term, highly-profitable supply deal with ABC. The business climate was unchanged from January to March, and Smith and Jones were selling identical products and services. Why, then, did they get such different results? More than likely, Angela Jones asked better questions of Wagner’s purchasing agent, and listened closely to what the agent Learn More.