Just yesterday, prompted by my husband, who is car-shopping, we set out to look at cars for him. Our objective was to look at three dealerships on one of the "car rows' in Atlanta to decide what he wanted. In the first dealership, the guy was not impressively knowledgeable, but polite and attentive. His badge indicated he has worked at their dealership since 2002, so he's been around. I liked him and so did my husband. We were 1 for 1 in the car shopping experience.

Then we drove up the street to the next dealership. This salesperson had slicked back hair (strike one), had a folded up piece of paper in his back pocket with the inventory on it (strike two), and didn't seem to know if the cars were 4 or 6 cylinders in the model we wanted to look at (strike 3). But, oh, he could ask how much we wanted to spend! I said, "nothing". His manager bailed him out and took over. Now, we were 1 for 2 in the car buying experience.

Lastly, we went to the third dealership. They were giving away a "Free Lunch" when you test drove a car. I said to my husband, "Free lunch! Wow, and I'm hungry." Picturing sub sandwiches and a nicely laid-out buffet (like my clients have for us), I was disappointed to see a silver kiosk with rubbery hot dogs, greasy chips, and diet sodas. That's lunch? "I'll have two waters, please."

OK, OK, so I really didn't go there for the lunch, anyway. The salesman came out of the dealership and his first question was, "How much do you want to pay for a car?" I promptly told him we were not going to discuss price until we found what we were looking for. He sneered, ran back inside, and tossed my husband the keys to a $30,000 without so much as a glance back. Now, we were 1 for 3. Not so good.

So, what was the problem? Asking for money too soon is considered a "killer question". If you've read my book, you know what they are. I don't care if you are selling commercial property, diaper services, or turkey cutlets, the reality is, you want to avoid asking KILLER QUESTIONS. Here they are:

1. "What do you know about us?" If a salesperson has to ask this question, it seems to me, he/she doesn't know about their company and should visit their own website and find out. Putting the customer on the spot is never a smart strategy to move forward in a relationship. Avoid this question at all costs! If you want to know how the customer found out about you, that's a different question. Simply say, "We're glad you called. How did you find us?" Much better.

2. "What do I have to do to earn your business?" Whoa! This one can get you into a whole heap of trouble! You are selling yourself short by volunteering to sweep out the customer's bathroom and slash your prices to below cost. It's a ridiculous question, so why ask and sound desperate? Instead, tell your customer that this is a terrific fit and you are confident that your company can best meet their needs. Then go for the professional close.

3. "How much money do you have?" If you have to ask that, you may hear the same answer as I gave to the surly car salesman. I'm OK with finding out about money, just 1) ask at the appropriate time (using the TRUST SCALE from my book) or 2) ask it in a less offensive way. For example, if you need to know the budget, ask "Tell me about your budget range." It's much less threatening than asking how much is in a customer's wallet! Also, unlike the car salesman, he didn't even know what car we were interested in purchasing before he started adding up his commission dollars!

4. "What's your sign?" Oops, wrong article.

So, now you know a few of the "killer questions" you need to avoid. Also, if you are buying a car, my recommendation is that you scope out the right type of salesperson or get a referral from someone you trust not to ask you about your money, before finding out about your needs!

(c)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved, www.salespeak.com, 678 587-9911