“Your secretary is hot. What’s her name?” – It doesn’t matter. They’re off limits.
“How Much Money Do You Make?” – Getting too personal before you’ve closed the deal.
“Who is your competition?” – If you don’t know this you shouldn’t be speaking with your customer.
“Don’t you hate (insert race)?” – Duh.
“Are you sure you have the budget?” – Don’t question customers once they’ve committed.
“Are you paying for lunch?” – When meeting a potential customer for lunch.
“What’s your personal Facebook URL?” – Leave Facebook for out of work friends.
“You won’t want me to ‘check in’ often will you?” – You do what they want.
“Are you single?” – It has nothing to do with you.
“Fancy a spliff?” – Not even if you’ve been out drinking with your customer all day can you ever take it the next step to drugs with them.
“Am I boring you?” – Don’t give the customer an opportunity to say yes!
Any question that starts with a business cliché – Low-hanging fruit, Win-win situation, Giving 110%, Take it to the Next Level, Seamless integration, In Today’s Highly Competitive Marketplace …
“Can you pay me in cash?” – Nobody wants to be told how they can give you their money.
“Can I speak with your boss?” – Never overtly go above your customer’s head.
“Should I just send you an email?” – If you’re not getting anywhere, you’re going to make even less progress if you wimp out and sent an email.
“Do you want to split my commission?” – This is wrong on so many levels (even though it’d probably make sense).
“Who do I need to speak to in here to make shit happen?!” – Finding the decision maker is important. Embarrassing people is not.
“Is your hair real?” – I honestly asked this to a customer during a nervous first conversation. Turns out it was real.
BONUS – 3 Questions Salesmen Should ALWAYS Ask Their Customers
“Are you the decision maker?” – So much time is wasted when this hasn’t been made clear. Make sure this is one of the first questions you ask.
“When are you looking to complete the deal?” – Time frames must be put in place to allow you to fill out your pipeline and avoid tyre kickers.
“What is your budget?” – Your price and so service offerings grow to fit it.
