Tarzan and the Elephants

My Mom was a funny lady and during my youth, she was constantly throwing riddles at me. Some of herriddles came in pairs and the pairs typically had a point. One such pair of riddles has been a huge lesson forme as I have gone through life. Here they are. Riddle 1: What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephantscoming down the road? "Here come the elephants." Riddle 2: What did the elephants say when theysaw Tarzan coming down the road? Nothing, elephants don't talk. Most people fail to get either answer correct. And despite missing the first question, most people aretoo proud of their intelligence to say "I don't know" in answer to the second question. My Mom wasmaking two points. First, she wanted me to realize that some questions are simple, I needed to notover-think things. After all what else would Tarzan have said? She also wanted me to understand thatanswering a question with words I just heard can take me way off track. Just because the question asksabout talking elephants does not mean elephants can talk. As a sales trainer, I spend my days trying to help salespeople and business owners realize that questionsyou are asked by prospects are rarely straightforward. The questions that prospects ask come fromtheir world and are based around their current situation, and how your sales team handles thesequestions is the key to selling success. Does your sales team know when to say "I don't know" and when to say "why do you ask?" These are the keys to keeping sales people out of trouble. Typically, our clients tell us that learning to handle their prospects questions is the primary driver of theirnewfound sales success. Handling these prospect questions correctly leads professional sales people tobigger, more focused and, best of all, more qualified chances to make sales. Are you ready to help your sales team learn the best way to handle the questions your prospects have