When is ‘interesting’ the worst word you can hear?  When you have finished a meeting with a potential client and the only thing they have to say about what you discussed or presented was ‘interesting’.

 

I was reviewing a sales visit that a sales person had undertaken and naturally I asked how the meeting was closed.  The sales person was very enthusiastic because the client had told him that he found the meeting very interesting and that he should call back towards the end of the following week.   My immediate reaction was that the meeting would not lead to anything and there was a strong chance that the call to be made the following week would not be accepted.  I asked the sales person to use the word interesting and tell me what he felt.  The response was that it was a polite way of saying I am not sure what you can do for me because you have not hit any points that grab my attention.

 

Never finish a meeting with the word ‘interesting’.  Find out what is the key issue that is to be addressed and the perceived benefits that would be gained by using your products or services, or whether no issues were addressed.  You might get a second chance to go round again and try and address the clients key issues, but ‘interesting’ is not one of his or her issues.  Even if you come to the conclusion you cannot help in a particular sales situation, at least you would have qualified out this lead and you can now move on to another potential opportunity.