{"id":11526,"date":"2017-08-17T20:52:43","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T20:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/interrogation-or-interview\/"},"modified":"2022-11-09T16:50:16","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T16:50:16","slug":"interrogation-or-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/interrogation-or-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales Interrogation, or Sales Interview?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever been unfortunate enough to have been taken in for questioning by the smartly dressed gentlemen and ladies of the FBI, you will likely have been exposed to a variety of sophisticated questioning strategies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>NOTE: I have never been exposed to these strategies firsthand, of course, since I was nowhere near the docks at midnight on Thursday; I have never met Jimmy the Gent; and I have a watertight alibi anyway\u2014I was giving out soup to the poor and needy of St. Cuthbert\u2019s. Just ask anyone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The FBI distinguish between two different types of situations requiring two different questioning strategies: the interview and the interrogation. The FBI calls the interview, \u201ca conversation with purpose.\u201d On the other hand, an interrogation is defined as \u201celiciting a confession against self-interest.\u201d Many salespeople approach a sales interview like they would an interrogation\u2014and this is their first mistake. And then and they unfortunately let the prospect interrogate them \u2013 and this is their second mistake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Prospects tend to feel like the sales meeting is designed to elicit some sort of confession against their own self-interest\u2014therefore, they are guarded, suspicious, and dubious. This is not the kind of attitude that\u2019s going to help your cause. Decide, therefore, ahead of time, whether you are going to interview your prospects, or interrogate them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Any successful FBI agent will tell you that the truth is always hidden in small packages. The interrogation builds a picture of the truth just a jigsaw\u2014little bits all fitting into one another to reveal the complete situation. The suspect (prospect) rarely blurts out all of the truth in one, long, all-revealing, soul-cleansing confession mere seconds before fading to the commercial break. This may happen on TV, but TV isn\u2019t real life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It\u2019s up to the interviewer (salesperson), therefore, to start by putting the other person at ease, to build rapport. Tonality, as they train it at FBI headquarters, is the single most important method for achieving this. Anything that sounds in the least bit \u201cinterrogate-y\u201d or accusatory is 100% bound to fail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Prepare a set of questions in advance of the (sales) interview\u2014not just in your head. Actually write them down. I don\u2019t care how long you\u2019ve been selling or how many similar meetings you have been to, do it. Why? According to the FBI, this is absolutely key to helping you \u201cactively observe\u201d every single word, nuance, syllable, sigh, and twitch when the other party is responding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Get the pace right, too. For most people, that means to slow down. Too many salespeople ask too many questions too quickly. Stop. Ask. Look. Listen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The FBI trains agents to be as straightforward and matter of fact as possible in the interview situation (transparent and with some\u2014but not a lot of\u2014warmth and empathy).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Put the subject at ease. Ask a few questions about family, hobbies, the weather, and the price of fish\u2014but keep it short. Get the tonality in your voice right. Gentle. Nurturing. Keep rapport alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Stay calm, and don\u2019t ever get emotionally attached to the case or its outcome. Remain dispassionate. Keep checking \u201cfacts.\u201d Ask the same question in a few different ways over time. Assume nothing. Don\u2019t appear too keen to solve the case or accuse the subjects or their acquaintances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Tell third-party stories. Ask the subject to help you understand the story and the circumstances surrounding the events.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Ask a question, then allow suspects to completely finish answering. Never interrupt them. Resist finishing off their sentences, and always stay on subject. Acknowledge (don\u2019t dismiss) concerns. Don\u2019t belittle what an interviewee says, and don\u2019t ever assume anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Have a look at these two lists. They should help you properly understand the main difference in philosophy and delivery between interrogation and interview questions. Whenever talking to prospects and clients, be sure that your ears are always on high-alert to spot which types of questions you\u2019re asking. Make sure that you get the tone of voice right, too: Nurturing Parent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\">\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_12823\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12823\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12823 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/How-to-Succeed-at-Keeping-Your-Clients.jpeg\" alt=\"Businesswoman and clients having a discussion\" width=\"700\" height=\"416\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/How-to-Succeed-at-Keeping-Your-Clients.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/How-to-Succeed-at-Keeping-Your-Clients-300x178.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/How-to-Succeed-at-Keeping-Your-Clients-768x456.jpeg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 700px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 700\/416;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12823\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Businesswoman and clients having a discussion about solutions and their needs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Close the interview by asking a few catch-all questions\u2014these are often the most critical questions of all. Write all of these questions down. Learn them. Use them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>\u201cWhat else should I know about?\u201d<\/li>\r\n<li>\u201cWhat else should I be aware of?\u201d<\/li>\r\n<li>\u201cI feel that I\u2019ve forgotten to ask something; have I?\u201d<\/li>\r\n<li>\u201cIs there anything else you want to tell me?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you want to fully understand the prospect and you want the prospect to fully understand you, then learn to ask gentle but probing questions that encourage the prospect to share information and remove any ambiguity (or assumptions that you might have) and get to the heart of the real truth. That\u2019s where the truth lies, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re after. Interview, don\u2019t interrogate.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve ever been unfortunate enough to have been taken in for questioning by the smartly dressed gentlemen and ladies of the FBI, you will likely have been exposed to a variety of sophisticated questioning strategies. NOTE: I have never been exposed to these strategies firsthand, of course, since I was nowhere near the docks&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":11527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1120],"tags":[1496,1057],"class_list":["post-11526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-hiring-and-recruitment","tag-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sales Interrogation, or Sales Interview? | Sandler Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019ve ever been unfortunate enough to have been taken in for questioning by the smartly dressed gentlemen and ladies of the FBI, you will likely have been exposed to a variety of sophisticated questioning strategies. 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