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Complete Story
11/04/2026
When You Don't Have the Answers
Source: Bill Farquharson, November 2, 2026
Good morning!
New salespeople sometimes avoid business-level conversations because they fear the customer will ask a question they cannot answer. Let’s say a prospect talks about a trade show they have coming up. Great news…but you panic:
“What do I know about running a successful trade show?”
“Why would anyone listen to me?”
“I don’t have the answers!”
Fortunately, you do not need to know all the answers. You need to know the questions.
Who are you trying to attract? What would make the event successful? What have you tried before? What happens to the leads afterward? Where has the process broken down?
The answers will tell you where help is needed.
The important part is that you stop treating an opportunity as ink, paper, quantity, and delivery. You learned the story behind it.
That story is where the value lives.
A customer already knows how to send specifications to several vendors and compare prices. They do not need another salesperson waiting patiently to become the lowest bidder.
They need someone curious enough to question the existing solution.
You do not need years of experience in their industry to begin that conversation.
You need curiosity, thoughtful questions, and the willingness to listen.
The Sales Vault, created by Bill Farquharson, is a subscription-based resource and sales community featuring a calendar packed with live workshops, on-demand sales courses, peer-to-peer discussion groups, and 35+ years of sales training content all searchable by sales challenge. Think of it as a sales conference where the seminars and workshops, full of instantly applicable ideas, are ongoing and more programs are added constantly.
The Sales Vault is available on a monthly subscription basis, normally at a no-brainer monthly price of $45/participant, but… GMA members can take advantage of an exclusive offer: FREE membership for 30 days followed by a discounted monthly subscription price of just $40/participant.
Bill has been a friend of GMA for many years and is, no doubt, known to our members as a top sales trainer and content creator for the graphic arts.
Other Vault resources:
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