To Get What You Want, Give Them a Choice

Hon, leftovers or Pizza tonight?

We sell ourselves everyday!  To help someone make choices in your favor avoid yes or no questions.  Ask a question with a favorable result.  In other words, ask an open-ended question that sets up a favorable response.

Here is an example: After living with me for so long, my wife now knows how to ask a question and get what ‘we both’ want.

"Honey, when we go out tonight do you want Mexican or Italian food?"  Instead of "do you want to go out tonight," my wife plants a couple of seeds, giving me a visual and possibly excites my taste buds.    We both get what we want.  The key is to choose two cuisines that are pleasing to you with the emphasis on the one you want the most.  In this case my wife likes both of these foods but prefers Italian on this night.

This can work on anything!  "Honey, would you prefer a drive to the mountains or does the beach sound better today?" In this case my wife just wants to get out of the house. “Which looks better on me the green or  the red one?”  My wife gets a sweater.   Here’s a good one.  “Do you want those leftovers in the fridge or go out for Pizza tonight?”  Guess what I choose!

This is just a softer, more persuasive way of getting what you want.  As a couple you can have some fun with this.

This is how I use this ploy on the sales floor:

“Do you want regular ink or the better value extra large?”

"Can I get you a bundle of paper or do you want to save money getting a case?”

“Is the two year plan good enough or do you prefer the better value three year plan?" 

On the sales floor when you respond to these kinds of questions you are the follower.  I don’t mind when my wife is leading the charge but not a salesperson.

On the sales floor be leery of this sales ploy to avoid feeling like a chump!”

Thanks for sharing this post with your Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail friends!

The definition of a chump:

a gullible person, a sucker; someone easily taken advantage of, the target of a scam.

Learn from a former salesperson and trainer how salespeople drive sales. Learn how to keep more money in your pocket where it belongs! There are two ends of every sales stick!  One end cries 'chump.'  The other end boasts 'champ.'  I know which end of the stick I want to be.  How about you?