I read this clever and interesting phrase and story the other day…Don’t spill your candy in the lobby.
Heather Baldwin mentioned this phrase in an article In Selling Power magazine.
It goes like this:
You go to the movies, buy a box of candy, open it before you leave the counter, you’re distracted and slip and spill your candy.
What would your mother have said to you?
“Why didn’t you wait until you got into the movie theater?”
So, next time your sales reps “spill their candy in the lobby”… meaning they open their mouths and spout out information like a run-away train well before it’s time in the sales conversation – tell them this story.
Eventually it will be a classic phrase in the office as each rep catches the other spilling their candy in the lobby!
A few tips to avoid spilling candy in the lobby…
Prepare. Take 3-5 minutes and ask yourself – What’s the purpose of this meeting? What do I know towards the purpose? What do I need to discover? What will success look like?
Ask questions. Listen 80%, Talk 20%. With effective questions the customer is throughly engaged, offering the information you need to know exactly how they like to buy.
Recap and Confirm. Before you begin to spill the candy, spout out everything about your product and service because of how they answered your questions – stop. Recap what you heard and ask for confirmation you heard it right. Also confirm the importance to make a change. You may find out it’s not important or you misunderstood. So instead of spilling the candy, you re-engage with questions.
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