Well-meaning friends, co-workers, and relatives write to "What Not to Wear" and tell the producers about someone they know with an atrocious wardrobe. The hosts, Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, fly to the city where the nominee lives, ambush them at their home or place of business, and offer them $5,000 to spend on a new wardrobe. A few stipulations accompany the offer: the nominee has to throw away their entire current wardrobe, fly to New York, and buy their new clothes according to Stacy and Clinton's fashion rules.

Simple, right? Who wouldn't want $5,000 and the chance to work with the best in the business? But it's not that easy. Some of these nominees haven't been shopping nor had their hair cut professionally in decades. Many wear nothing but hand-me-downs or are stuck in a particular period like the '70s. All are very attached to their "style" and completely out of touch with how their mode of dress causes them to be perceived by others. Many have underlying issues with their self-image.

Stacy and Clinton, along with hair stylist Nick Arrojo and make-up artist Carmindy, have to convince these people to shed their whole image and start again. Though they are brutally frank and can be tough on people, all the stylists start their conversations with these scared, hostile, and wary nominees with open-ended questions.

Stacy and Clinton

Let's talk about your look...

• When did you last go shopping?
• What message are you trying to send when you wear this?
• How do you think others perceive you when you wear that?
• What do you think you are saying to the world?
• Why are you hiding behind your clothes?

Nick Arrojo

It's time to talk about this hair of yours...

• How do you like your hair?
• What got you to this point?
• How do you feel abut what's going on up on top here right now?
• What do you think about the color?
• How much freedom will you give the Nickster?

Carmindy

Let me take a look at your face...

• I notice you do not have make-up on right now. Why is that?
• Tell me a little bit about your make-up regime.

Faced with some of the biggest fashion disasters imaginable, all of these stylists maintain a professional demeanor, ask their questions, and then listen to what the nominee has to say. Most of the nominees respond to the questions above with thoughtful answers. Almost all break down and admit that their "style" may be a way of keeping people at a distance, or allowing them to stay in a comfort zone, or preventing them from reaching their goals.

Sales Calls

Eager to move a prospect along, many sales representatives ask a few perfunctory questions and then jump right into a product presentation. Very few take the time to find out:

• How much guidance the customer needs in their decision making
• The process they used to select their current product or service
• Why they chose the particular one they use now
• What they like about it
• How much freedom the customer has to consider options

Prospects, just like the nominees on "What Not To Wear," get stuck in patterns and hang on to the outdated. Even if a sales representative is positively astounded by the prospect's use of an antiquated product or service, they need to talk to them about what they are using currently and why.

Top-producing sales representatives have trouble containing their enthusiasm about their product or service. However, before they begin to speak passionately about what they sell, they must find out how the prospect is handling a particular issue right now, and why they have made that choice. By discussing the current situation first, they will gain greater insight into the prospect's motivations and be able to make a stronger case for purchasing their product or service.