“Will this consulting project address segment boundaries,?” one of the executives in the room asked.

I smiled and gently replied, “No, that’s not our focus here today.”

Without breaking eye contact with me, he smiled tightly and continued: “Well, the reason I ask is….”  and he described his concerns. They were good concerns.

As I was listening, my Voice in the Head shouted, “May Day!  May Day!” and warning lights flashed everywhere. Ah-OOOO-ga. Ah-OOOOO-ga. “May Day!”

Why “May Day?”

Because he wasn’t asking for information, he was signaling me, and my polite and well-intended, conversation-focusing answer created an objection: “Well… If this engagement doesn’t address segment boundaries, I won’t support it fully.”   From that point forward, in his opinion, I was playing “catch up.”  I had lost his trust.

So, how could I have answered with a trust-building response, starting in the same moment?

HIM: “Will this engagement address segment boundaries?”

ME: “Ah, good question. Sounds like that’s an important concern for you.”

HIM: “Yes, it is….blah blah blah

ME:  “So your concern is that you want your sales representatives to … blah blah blah.

HIM:  “Yes, because… blah blah blah.

At that point I could have…

• Asked others in the group, “How do you feel about this concern?”
• Said, “Here’s how we could address your concern” and share options for discussion.
• Deferred, saying, “Great concern, let me think about it for a few minutes and come back to it.”

Any one of those answers would have increased rapport, connection, momentum, and trust.

Moral of the story: ANY time a prospect or client asks a question about our products or services or industry conditions, anything more substantive than “Would you like something to drink?”, learn first what’s behind the question:

• “What prompts you to ask?” (Or, “For what reason do you ask?”)
• “Sounds like that’s an important concern.”
• “That’s interesting. Tell me more….”
• “How do others feel about ___ ?”
• “When you say _____, what do you mean?”

Unless we understand the point of view or question behind the question, we’re more likely to give a “wrong” answer than we are to give a “right” one.  Don’t be too quick to answer.