We have all been there - we are in the middle of a research meeting and we are so bored that we are looking forward to our next nap. The first thing we need to do is ask ourselves the question "whose fault is it that this research meeting is boring?" No doubt we need to come back and pin it on ourselves. If a research meeting is boring we only have ourselves to blame. By the way, if we think the research meeting is boring, we should wonder what the customer is thinking.

If we find ourselves in this situation, we need to figure out why it is not going well. It could be because we don't have the contact engaged or interested in the meeting, and their answers reflect that disinterest. If this is the case, we should ask different types of questions. One sure fire way to do this is to ask them about themselves. Ask about their backgrounds, objectives, and issues. Ask questions that challenge them and get them to invest in the call. Asking them to share their feelings or opinions is often a powerful way to get them to re-engage themselves in the meeting.

Another reason the meeting is less than fascinating could be because our contact is stuck in a rut. Perhaps they have been focused on a single issue throughout the conversation, say for instance, their quality initiative. What if we learned everything we needed to know about their quality initiative after the first 5 minutes? Then we may need to change the direction of the meeting. This is a great time to make an honest transition like "I've learned so much about the quality initiative. Thank you for sharing. What I'm wondering about now is your marketing effort. How has the company's marketing efforts impacted your quality efforts?"

Of course, the best way to deal with this situation is to avoid it. Make sure you are prepared with interesting and insightful questions that not only interest the listener, but whose answers will interest you.