My First Job: Selling Computers on the South Side of Chicago
My first job in business was as a salesperson for IBM. I covered 13 zip codes on the south side of Chicago, selling AS400 mid-range systems. What a great, scary job packed with opportunity to learn how to sell.
Most every day, I would drive my old car down to the south side and park in one of my assigned zip codes. Then I would walk door-to-door from one manufacturing company to the next, asking to see the President. In those days, IBM had three rules of lead generation:
- Call on the President
- Call on the President
- Call on the President
It seems that they were trying to tell us something. That’s what they told us to do and that’s what I did…I called on the President! And I spent most of my time living in fear of getting thrown out of every decent company on the south side (and I pretty much was).
The Day It All Changed
One day, my boss wanted to do a ride-along. This, of course, took my already frayed nerves and shredded them. But I was prepared. I was ready. I had my best blue suit pressed, my white oxford done with heavy starch and my red tie. I thought through how each meeting would go in advance.
I set up appointments with the Presidents of various manufacturers and away we went. After the final meeting of the morning, my boss and I got in my car and he turned to me and asked; “What did you think? How did those go?”
Reflecting on several very cordial and productive meetings, I responded; “I thought they went really well. They seemed interested in what we have, and I think we can help them.”
He seemed to agree, but then asked a follow-up question; “What did you learn?”
This seemed like a trick question. He was looking for something, but I had no idea what. So I said; “Well, I learned that we have a couple of opportunities, and I think that’s great.
His response was unexpected, and I’ve never forgotten it. 25 years later, I think about it often as I walk into high-stakes meetings with clients and prospects.
“Craig, every question you asked this morning you should have known the answer to…”
It took me a second to process what he was saying. Here I was, thinking that I had done great, and he was suggesting that was not so.
He continued; “You asked questions about how many products these companies have, how many employees and where they do business. You could have looked those up and you would have had those answers. Then, you could have spent your time getting better, more-actionable information and building a stronger relationship.”
Ouch. This seemed so damn obvious, and of course he was right. I had prepared to ask those questions, thinking that I was on top of my game. Turns out, I had not moved the ball at all, only run around in circles.
The Power of Asking the Right Questions
I’ve never forgotten that lesson. That day, my boss gave me a great gift. The gift of asking impact questions that yield true insight.
One of the best tools that professionals have is our ability to ask impact questions. This means that we have spent time understanding and absorbing the foundational questions in advance, and that valuable face-to-face time can be spent building a stronger relationship by exploring the questions that really count.
I never looked at questions the same way again.
