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VIDEO: SALES ENABLEMENT AND CONTENT BEST PRACTICES


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Better Questions Can Mean More Sales


To close the sale, you need to un- derstand your prospect’s situation. To gain understanding, you need to ask the right questions. Good questions not only pro- vide information; they also create a stronger buyer/seller bond, give you an edge over the competition, and give the buyer a higher comfort level. When you understand the customer’s need, you serve those needs better. In a recent study conducted by The Sales Development Institute in Upper Darby, PA, of 300 salespeo- ple surveyed, 87 percent under- stood the value of asking questions on a sales call – but only 27 percent demonstrated an ability to ask a well-thought-out, stimulating series of questions. To ask questions that get infor- mation, create motivation, and add the stimulation needed to solve problems, here are some guidelines to follow:


• A good question leads the call


in the direction you want it to go. • Good questions require more than a yes or no answer; they require thought and commitment on the part of the buyer. • Before developing your ques- tion strategy, ask yourself: Are your questions clear and concise? Do they lead the client to draw from past experiences? Do they gener- ate a response the prospect has not thought about before? Do they re- late directly to the prospect’s current business situation? Last, do they relate to the customer’s objectives? To be sure your questions ac- complish all these aims, use this question blueprint: Begin with a factual statement; follow with an observation; and conclude with a focused, probing question. Here’s an example: “Mr. Baldwin, your company form-molds metal carrying cases using the XYZ process developed and patented by United Mold Corporation in the early ’70s. That’s a good system and widely used in your industry. I see your production is around 22.7 units per hour. How does that per-hour rate stack up in today’s more competitive climate?”


Make [happiness] the object of pursuit, and it leads us a wild-goose chase, and is never attained. Follow some other object, and very possibly we may find that we have caught happiness. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE


Mr. Baldwin has to answer some- thing. He has to think about his business versus the competition. He has to do some quick figuring and he has to be thinking about the possibility you’re going to offer him a better way to mold metal. Without ever selling Mr. Baldwin on the benefits of your product, you are already leading him in that direction and letting him come to his own conclusions. By using the question blueprint, salespeople can use questions to gain a strategic advantage on any sale. Here’s a different example. “The printing business has certainly got- ten more technological than it was even three years ago, Ms. Tate. I notice you haven’t yet installed one of the online pre-press composition machines that have revolutionized creating color on the printed page. How many new accounts would you estimate you could attract if you offered this new service to your customers?” There’s the blueprint: factual statement, observation, and focused, probing question. It will serve you well and get your sale roll- ing toward more closes more often.


– CHARLIE BRENNAN


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