Do Ask ...Do Tell

Voltaire was right. The 18th century philosopher said, "Judge a man by his questions, not by his answers." In sales he is absolutely right. Better questions will get you business. Here are questions that you can ask to help you close business faster.

Do they care now? Early in the sales process it's important to find out who is involved in the decision making process. The question to ask is "Who along with you makes the decision to buy (your product)?" To make your sales goals you need more information than just knowing who the decision makers are. You need to know your prospect's sense of purchasing urgency. If a budget is already set you have one indication that a purchase is likely. A purchase is even more urgent if upper management has an interest. Perhaps corporate goals are set that your product or service can address. This visibility makes your product an important and more urgent purchase. One sales professional asked a prospect "How do the goals of upper management align with this project? Hearing that they were in alignment indicated that a purchase was likely. He then followed up with the question, "And how is that goal translated into your performance goals?" That question showed the salesperson how to personalize the positioning of his product for that particular prospect. Most customers will do what's in their best interest. If a buyer's motivation comes both from corporate interests and personal interests you're more likely to make a sale.

The power of questions. The value of asking questions is that you get more than the answers to your questions. When your prospects answer your questions they are more motivated to buy. Why? Because the customer understands from his point of view why there is a reason to buy. When you ask a question, your customer is answering the question from his point of view. When a customer tells you an answer, it's his opinion. It's personal. Customers never argue with their own data. Think about your own past selling. Did you tell customers that they had a problem area and could save money if they bought your products? Did you find it took you longer to sell? Next time ask them if they're experiencing a problem area. Follow up with a question about how much the problem area is costing them. When customers tell you the answer, they'll begin to understand they have a problem. Then it will be their idea to buy.

Next steps. Salespeople will often ask at the end of the sales call "What should be the next steps?" The answers will typically be what the salesperson should do. You can be asked to send information, put together a proposal, or provide samples. Rather than find out what you should do next, it is more useful for the sales process to learn what the customer will be doing next. The question to ask is, "What do you think should be your next steps?" You will learn more information about your prospect's commitment to buying by the answer to that question. You are looking for a thoughtful positive response. If you get that answer, you've done a good job of creating customer awareness and interest during the sales call. If your customer is not going to do much after the meeting, you'll know that what you have done during the sales call needs more work. Your next step is to determine what needs more work so you can get your prospect's commitment.

When you think of getting better results in sales, you might think it unusual to follow the guidance of an 18th century philosopher. Voltaire was known during his life as the voice of reason. Applying his philosophy of questioning to sales, it's reasonable to assume that you will improve your sales.
 

Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals on skills and strategies so they can sell more and be more productive at work.  She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results which is available at www.BestatSelling.com.  She founded her company Best@Selling in 1997.  You can reach her at 972.380.0200 or info@Bestatsellling.com.

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