Walk into a retail store. That retailer has spent lots of marketing dollars just to get you in the door, still much of it on outbound marketing. You’re now in the store browsing and it’s almost a guarantee the sales associate will ask one of the following: “Can I help you find something?” or “Are you looking for something special today?” As a potential customer our knee jerk reaction is to smile and say “no thank you”. What a terrible opportunity to waste!
Rather, greet with a smile and a question that is undeniable – “What are you shopping for today?”
It’s an open ended question that will elicit something more than a yes or no. Compare this to the close end questions from the first example that yielded a “no thank you”.
It’s obvious. Of course I’m in here shopping for something, otherwise I wouldn’t be in here. This is especially applicable for inbound/web leads – they wouldn’t have been on your site if they weren’t looking for something.