A big part of traditional selling is presenting, typically without getting any real information first. Not only do salespeople do it when selling, but they do it when applying for jobs as well!
A while back one of my clients got an email through his website from someone looking for a sales position. My client preferred to call him back instead of emailing him, so he did that. He introduced himself, and thanked the other person for submitting his information.
Then he asked, "Well, what kind of a position are you looking for? What is it you're wanting?"
Now, my client knew he had some basic information about their company, based on the fact that he'd been on their website and some of what he'd put into the form on the website.
The guy never answered the question! Not only did he not answer, but he never asked any questions either! Instead, he went into full presentation mode about why he was well qualified to do a position he didn't even know anything about.
He went on and on and on.
When my client shared the story with me, he added, "It's not going to go well for him, obviously."
Unfortunately, that sort of thing is all too common, and it's one reason why sales tends not to be a well respected profession.
Imagine you walked into your doctor's office complaining about pain in your abdomen, and he immediately recommended an appendectomy. He would get sued for malpractice!
Doctors don't do that. They answer your questions and ask you questions to get more information so they can make an intelligent diagnosis.
After all, that pain in your abdomen could just be gas!
But salespeople do that all the time. Be different! Ask questions and have a conversation. A salesperson who does their job is gathering more information than they're sharing. You have two ears and one mouth so you can listen twice as much as you talk!
