As Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.”
I talk about the importance of curiosity for selling in one of my presentations. I think being curious makes a salesperson successful. Could you imagine a successful salesperson without being curious? I couldn’t.
One of the most important reasons that you need to be curious is when your customer says something and you are curious enough to ask why. You often learn so much more about his current situation and what motivates him to change that situation when you hear the answer. The answer gives you so much guidance in developing an effective sales strategy.
Here’s what I’m curious about when I sell. I want to know why my prospects picked their current supplier, what their current situation means to them, what their goals are for their future and much, much more.
Do you see why being curious gives you a wealth of information that you can use to fit your products and services into a great solution for your prospects?
Stop and think about your prospects and what you would like to know about them if you’re not curious. Write your questions. Then remember to ask them the next time you make a sales call. After you hear the answers, consider what you can do with that information.
What products could address the concerns you hear? Ask how not changing their current situation will impact them or their department if you didn’t hear their concerns.
Just remember the old saying, “Curiosity killed the cat.” The rest of the saying is “but, satisfaction brought him back.” You’ll get satisfaction from a sale when you’re curious.