Page 73 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

151 Quick Ideas to Get New Customers

sort them out as you ask

Assignment questions and get to know

Learn not to make snap them.
judgments based on appear-
ance. Ask some key ques- The owner of a small
tions to qualify a prospect high-performance auto
rather than just depending on shop had been having a
their appearance. tough day when a young
customer came in and be-
gan to ask prices and avail-

ability on a page-long list

of high-performance items. Somehow the owner managed

to keep a smile on his face as he quoted price after price.

However, inside he was telling himself “This is a waste of

time. This young person could never afford to buy this stuff.”

After pricing many thousands of dollars of merchandise, the

young man looked at the shop owner and said “Okay, I’ll

take it.” To which the owner responded, “You’ll take what?”

The customer said “Everything you just quoted.” With that,

he pulled out a roll of hundred dollar bills to pay for what

was on hand and what had to be ordered. The owner learned

a great lesson that day. Never judge a person by what’s on

the outside, and never assume a prospect can’t or won’t

buy based on their appearance.

Epilogue

There’s no way of knowing for sure whether the person
with whom you’re talking is a pauper or a millionaire. The
best way is to let them qualify themselves rather than running
the risk of judging them incorrectly.

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