During a conversation with a prospect, if you sense something is incorrect or feel you are being misled or denied information … trust your feelings. First, identify and understand what triggered those feelings. Then you must deal with them in a mature and appropriate manner. As a Business Development Professional, you must learn to skillfully, tactfully and professionally express your feelings. This will force the issues to the surface, and if done correctly, will cause you to gain credibility with the prospect. If you discount it or deny it, you may lose credibility, miss opportunities and eventually suffer afterburn.
Afterburn occurs when a past event continues to affect your behavior. When you realize that something did not make sense and you did not confront or challenge it in a professional way, there is a chance the real problem or pain will go undetected and unresolved.
Too many professionals mistakenly take the principle of removing all feeling from the Business Development role too literally. Professionals must first know themselves and take ownership of their feelings. By doing so, they are comfortable in challenging and confronting prospects in what they say or do in a manner that ultimately benefits both parties.