When you deal with customers who’d rather talk sports, music or weather instead of business, try one of these tactics to get back to your point.

These tips come from Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business and Influence Others, by Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas.

• For customers who get off on the right foot – then try to spend 10 minutes talking about something else – get them to refocus by asking, “What is your question again?”
• Even though some customers ask questions, they lose interest in what you say (and you need them to understand the details). Ask this: “What do you think is the most important thing we need to cover?”
• Customers who get off-subject or don’t listen can be roped back in if you ask their opinion about something specific. Say, “What do you think about …?” or “Can you tell me more about …?”