best sales assessment

I pulled up to the entrance of the Doubletree Hotel, greeted Chris, and we walked into the hotel restaurant.  As we approached the table, a well-meaning server asked, are you an Honors member?  I said, “yes.”  

A moment later she returned and said she couldn’t find me in the system.  She asked me to spell my name, went back to her computer, and returned again, saying, “I can’t find your reservation in the system.”

I explained that I wasn’t a hotel guest and we were here for breakfast.  “Oh, then you’ll have to pay for your breakfast!”  

“OK,” I said.  After all, I was expecting to pay for breakfast!

Can you imagine how much simpler it would have been if her first question was, “Are you staying with us?”

Salespeople make the exact same mistake.  How do I know?  I can prove this with several examples.