Dan explains his wrong turn during an excursion in the headhunting arena:

She had two things going for her. Jane was a great salesperson and her husband pitched for the Boston Red Sox (so do you think she was good looking, too?). If you can't start a good conversation trying to place this woman into a sales job, you don't deserve to be in selling.

The problem in the search business is that most companies won't pay fees for salespeople. They can run an ad in the paper and get hundreds of responses. Why spend $12,000 on my services? So it was with great relief that a gentlemen who published a magazine, agreed to pay my fee if he hired Jane. I set up the interview.

Jane was supposed to call me immediately after the meeting. But an excited magazine owner called me first. And then the words a recruiter lives to hear: He loved her. She was perfect for the job. He'd pay her asking salary. I told him that I'd call him as soon as I got her feedback on the interview.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SENT ME THERE!" She screamed into the phone.

It was a porn magazine.

I had no idea. The title of the publication didn't give a hint. Jane was very cool about it. We had some good laughs later, but it was nothing compared to the laughs in the Red Sox clubhouse when the story worked its way there.

I learned that I needed to ask more questions to determine exactly what it was that my prospects need help with.

POSTMORTEM: Here's the problem and it is about questions: Every salesperson knows that in his finite universe there are certain things that stay the same. Dan's problem is that he didn't ask what was the customer target or demographic description of the magazine's market. He would have found out two things - 1) Jane might have said no way, and 2) he could have targeted a salesperson who calls on that target market already, providing a perfect solution to his prospect's need. List all the questions that you should ask a prospect and get them answered before offering your solution.