Prospects come in with different behaviors, and different expectations. Sometimes, prospects make up their mind before you ever interact directly with them. It may be that they want to do business with you, or it may be that they don't. Or they may not know yet.
Regardless, the earlier you can figure it out, the better.
Some prospects, when they sit down with you, may already know they want to hire you. For whatever reason, they already think you're a good fit. Maybe they were referred to you, maybe it's something else entirely.
In those situations, they're using the things you say to help them confirm their decision.
On the other hand, some prospects come in and have no idea whether they want to hire you or not. They believe they're on a fact-finding mission to see whether you're the right fit for them or not.
In cases like that, they're listening very differently. They're not using everything you say to reassure themselves that they've made the correct choice. They're still making that choice!
Finally, you may interact with people that have already made up their mind that they don't want to do business with you. In those cases, they may hardly be listening at all.
You need to figure out really quickly which situation you're in. And you need to have appropriate questions for each case.
If they've already decided to hire you, it may be okay to talk a little more. You may want to offer several options, asking very specific questions.
If they're still deciding, it's even more important that you ask a lot of questions. Really dig in to discover the cause of their surface pains.
If, on the other hand, you get the impression they don't want to hire you at all, that's a great time for a very direct question. Just be sure to soften it first.
"Joe, do you mind if I ask you a direct question?"
"Please do."
"I don't want to waste your time. I get the impression that you've already decided not to do business with me. Is that right?"
Then depending on how they reply, you can either dig in with some more questions, or end the interaction.
The key is to find out as early as possible if your prospect has already made a decision or not, and be prepared with how you're going to respond.
