The Key to Elite Sales Performance: Maintaining a Child's Curiosity

I have four kids. Their ages are: 6, 4 ½, 3, and 1 ½. If you’re looking to relax in peace and quiet, stay outside of a 50-mile radius of my house. I love my kids dearly. One of the attributes I love most about these little munchkins is their pure, unadulterated, naked curiosity.

My wife and I do nothing OTHER than answer questions, all day and all night.

Mom, where’s dad?
Dad, where’s mom?
Mom, what is this?
Dad, are cocoons real?
Mom, is milk healthy?
Dad, do cars sleep?
Mom, is Grandma bigger than you?
Dad, what do fish eat?
Mom, why has dad been locked in the closet all night with Bose noise-canceling headphones on?

In the words of Randy Jackson, “Do you feel me, Dawg?”

Ah, but in each day and in each moment and in each interaction, a lesson lies. The lesson here is for you, the professional salesperson, you, who knows all, you, who doesn’t need any training and expects to meet your growth targets by doing more of the same thing.

The lesson here is simple: be curious and ask questions.

It amazes me how many professional salespeople will say, “sales is all about listening to your customer.” But when you actually hear them on a sales call, you feel like you’re talking to Del Griffith (John Candy’s rotund, shower curtain ring salesman character in Planes, Trains and Automobiles).

Be curious. Not because you want the sale, need the sale or want to “nail the deal down.” Be curious for the same reason my kids are—to learn. It will make you much more enjoyable to be around (and it will make you lots more money as a sales professional).

Related posts:

1. The High Cost of Low Curiosity
2. Too Much Certainty Kills Curiosity – and Costs You Money!
3. The World's Greatest Salesforce
4. Rewire The Sales Mind – Lesson 2
5. Salesperson Stereotypes and How to Avoid Them