Do you know who you’re talking to?

Last week, at my weekly dart game, one of my teammates asked me if I follow hockey, to which I replied, “No.”

He then said, “I guess you don’t play in hockey pools either.” I shook my head. End of discussion, right? Not quite. This fellow then proceeded to tell me everything about a hockey pool he was organizing—with the intent of trying to convince me to join.

I see this happen in sales all the time, too. It’s not uncommon for salespeople and business owners to talk incessantly about aspects of their products, solutions or companies even though their prospects have zero interest in what they’re saying.

When I worked in the consumer electronics business, sales associates would often ask customers questions such as “Do you have children?” And even when the answer was no, they would launch into a presentation about the child-friendly features of their products.