The CIA Technique That Gets People Talking Without Realizing It

Good Morning. A massive heat wave is expected to hit the central and eastern U.S. this week, with “feels like” temps pushing past 100 in a bunch of major cities. Which means it’s a good week to stay inside, drink water, and send a bunch of follow up emails before your prospects log off for the 4th of July this weekend. Try this one out: “Hey Bob, the weather channel says it feels like 102 degrees outside today, but to me, it feels like you’re ignoring me. Free to chat?” There’s no way that doesn’t get a response, right? Now, let's get into today's Follow Up. (:

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Sales Tip of The Day 💡

When you have a lot to cover on a sales call, start by asking the prospect what would make the call worth their time.

❌ “We’ve got a lot to cover today, so I’ll run through the agenda quickly.”
✅ “We’ve got a few things we can cover today, but before we jump in, what would make the next 30 minutes most valuable for you?”

When you have a ton to cover, the fastest way to lose a prospect is to make them sit through the parts they don’t care about.

That one question tells you where to focus the call, so your prospect feels like they got value in return for the 30 minutes they gave you.

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Getting Someone to Tell You Something They Shouldn’t

I watched a rep on my team run a discovery call last year where he asked about 14 questions in 22 minutes.

Good questions too. Thoughtful, open ended, straight out of the playbook. The prospect gave one line answers to every single one, and the deal didn’t go any further.

The problem was that they turned on a fire hose of questions, right in the prospect’s face. And instead of feeling understood, they felt like they were being interrogated.

The CIA ran into the same problem decades ago and built a technique around it called elicitation.

Originally popularized by CIA officer John Nolan, the core idea is simply: use statements instead of questions. And yeah… his book is rare, which is why it’s $900 on Amazon.

When you make a statement, people feel like they're in a conversation. And they volunteer things they'd never hand over if you asked directly.

Soviet spies used this on US Navy sailors during the Cold War. A submarine pulls into port in Thailand, sailors are drinking at a bar, and a Russian in a Hawaiian shirt sits down and says, "I know the German submarines can outrun yours because their propellers are 22 feet in diameter and yours are only 18." The sailor, a few drinks in, can't help himself and says: "No, they're not." And just like that, classified propeller specs are on the table. And nobody asked a single question.

If instead, the Soviet spy walked up to the sailor and said, “Are your propellers 18ft in diameter?”, the red flags would go up, and the sailor wouldn’t offer up that info.

Here’s how you can use this technique in sales.

Make a Statement → Get a Correction

The strongest version of this is triggering someone's need to correct you.

People can’t resist fixing wrong information. It's almost involuntary.

On a sales call, instead of asking "What tools are you using for this?" say, "I'm guessing you're probably just handling this in spreadsheets." If they are, they'll explain why. If they're not, they'll jump in and tell you exactly what they're using.

→ “No, we actually started using XYZ software last year, and it hasn’t been great. We started using it because everything was a mess in spreadsheets before that.”

You get the full answer. And they never felt interrogated.

This is amazing for budget convos too. Skip the question entirely and say, "Most teams your size usually spend somewhere between 40 and 60K a year on this."

That's a technique called bracketing. Give a range. And the prospect will place themselves in it, above it, or below it, almost every time.

Then they're reacting to a number, instead of answering a question about their budget.

Disbelief Pulls Out the Details

Once you have the surface level info, disbelief is what gets you deeper.

Say your prospect mentions they've been evaluating solutions for six months. Instead of asking what's taking so long, say, "Six months and no real issues with the process. That's impressive."

They will immediately start telling you every challenge. Every internal blocker and internal political fight slowing them down. People can't let a wrong compliment stand.

Here’s some phrases that make this work: "I bet that was a tough transition." Or, "So you've been managing all of that with a team of four." These are statements that invite a response without demanding one.

The prospect feels like they’re volunteering information, not being forced to reveal it.

Use Both

Statements are a major hack, but that doesn’t mean you stop asking questions.

Thoughtful, open ended questions are what make a great discovery call. Elicitation doesn't replace them. But it fills in the gaps where direct questions hit a wall. Things like budget, competitive landscape, internal politics, and timeline pressure.

Those are the moments where a statement could get you further than a question.