When it comes to sales questions are amazing wonderful tools. Sadly when it comes to all the practicing, pre-call planning, and preparation that sales professionals do it seems that questions fall by the wayside. Which is too bad because questions make for great conversations and help the participants of the sales call find winning solutions.
Great questions provoke thought. They make the listener stop and think. Great questions elicit honest and at times emotional responses. Great questions help you, the salesperson; reach a deeper understanding of your client. In return you will gain a respect most salespeople could only dream of through your desire to learn more.
Did you or did you not order the 'code red?!?' - Lieutenant Kaffee from A Few Good Men
What Do You Want To Know?
First reason why most salespeople do not ask insightful questions is because they do not know what it is that they want to know. In not knowing they ask fluff questions or the like to "move the conversation along" without giving a thought to their customer. This is akin to being forced to watch a torturous PowerPoint presentation (as if there is any other kind.) Their customers' thoughts, feelings, and interests are secondary to the sales presentation.
It is easy to recognize such poor questions because they sound awkward, mistimed, and forced.
In order to begin to have great questions you have to hypothesize about your customer. Yes, you are making assumptions but you not going to act on them. Instead you are going to formulate questions that test your assumptions and either confirm or refute your hypothesis.
You have to know what it is that you wish to understand about your customer. Then ask it - directly to your customer. It is always amazing how many salespeople ask questions that are vague and/or require the customer to answer a series of them. The only result is to make the salesperson look foolish and frustrate the customer.
Successful stellar salespeople do all the necessary preparation to identify what it is they specifically want to know. They write questions that are clear and direct that will elicit an answer. They use the answers they receive to provide valuable clear information that will help their customer buy.
All nonsense questions are unanswerable. - C. S. Lewis
5 Steps To Create Great Questions
Write down what you want to know. During your pre-call planning, as you sift through all your information, write down what you want to know about your customer’s actions, buying habits, business needs, and desires.
Come up with a hypothesis to your customer's actions.
Write open-ended questions (those that start with Who, What, Where, Why, When, and How) that will give you answers to what you want to know and test your hypothesis.
Practice asking your questions out loud, if they sound awkward to you and others then you need to revise them.
Keep a record of the questions you ask that elicit deep responses. Use this record to build better questions and follow-up questions.
Successful people ask better questions, and as result, they get better answers. - Tony Robbins
Never Fear The Answers
Another reason why most salespeople do not ask great questions (or even ask them at all) is that they fear the answer. That fear goes beyond hearing "No" and enters the realm of losing control of the sales call. Fear that they will not be able to respond to whatever answer the customer comes back with. Fear that they will not be of value at all.
That is true test of sales! Great salespeople never fear the answers. The love them, embrace them, and recognize that the answers - while possibly taking a sales call to the edge - give the salesperson the information necessary to help the customer. The answers help turn the sales call into a great conversation and build a foundation of trust in the business relationship.
Never fear the answers because in them you will find valuable feedback that will make your products/services better. You will learn how your competition is positioning against you. You will learn novel uses of your products. You will learn the truth about your customers.
What are some the best questions you have heard or used?
