Questioning Skills

Want Sales Success? Don’t Skip the Qualifying Step

Written by Robyn Davis

Why do we qualify leads? We do this to understand what the prospect is looking for, to identify which of our offerings may be most applicable (if any), and to determine how this new relationship should proceed. Basically, we qualify leads to help us through the sales process. Today I’d like to focus on a situation I recently encountered as a potential/returning customer that was handled poorly from a sales perspective because this qualifying step was ignored.

Here’s the Situation: Traveling (unexpectedly) late at night, I had a few more hours to go before arriving at home and I was getting tired. I started imagining an alternative to driving the rest of the way; however, with the holidays just around the corner, I was determined to stick to my budget and decided hotel reservations were only a good option if I could secure a discount.

I pulled over at a mid-range hotel in a chain where I hold priority status.

I asked the person at the desk if they offered any “specials” for arriving after 2AM (the parking lot was mostly empty and, at that point, I imagined it was highly unlikely they would sell out for the night, making any sale better than no sale). He said, “no.”

I mentioned that I had to get to Knoxville and was getting tired. He said, “that’s another 2 ½ hours away – good luck.”

I went to the bathroom (giving him an opportunity to confer with his superiors or reconsider his position, if he wanted to) and then as I walked out, I said “thank you” and he said “good night."

That was it. As I continued on my drive, I started thinking about this situation from a business perspective and was disappointed that a hotel chain I had grown quite fond of would throw away such a great opportunity to increase my brand loyalty.

The representative's short and sarcastic tone coupled with his lack of effort through our brief interaction negatively impacted my opinion of this hotel chain.

What should he have done differently?

1. Listen to the question beneath the question I verbalized.

What I asked was “do you have any late night specials?” but what I wanted to know was “can I justify the cost of a room tonight?” If he had listened to my question and the pain point I specified, he might been able to identify a way to help me (and his company). This “question below the question” is a common focus during the qualifying process because many prospects don’t know what they really want; but you, as the expert offering an outside perspective, should be able to discern their true need.

2. Suggest an opportunity that could fit my needs.

Instead of leaving his answer at “no,” this representative could have identified complementary offerings and opened the potential of making a sale. First, he could have volunteered the answer to the question I didn’t ask (the fair price of a room) or informed me of other specials available at his hotel. Then, if that didn’t work, he could have suggested a different hotel within his chain that offers lower room rates. Or, finally, if that didn’t work either, he could have recommended a (competing) hotel in the area or along my route which may have been able to accommodate my request (although this wouldn’t have resulted in a sale for his company at this time, it would have shown that he had my best interests in mind, which would have been likely to pay off in the future).

3. Show compassion.

I can respect that it may have been against hotel policy to reduce the room rate or he may not have been authorized to make special arrangements; however, I’m not sure either of these excuses is true (because I wasn’t given an excuse) or that it even matters. The issue here was that I didn’t feel heard and I didn’t feel valued as a loyal customer. His tone didn’t say that he couldn’t help me; it indicated that he simply didn’t care to help me. Your attitude is your choice. In this situation, the representative could have spoken to me as a person. He could have conveyed his interest and understanding, offered whatever assistance possible or apologized for the inability, and focused on making the best possible impression at that time.

Although disappointing, this scenario is not uncommon – in fact, I imagine you have encountered something similar recently as well (feel free to share your story in the comments section below) – but that’s why it makes such a great educational opportunity…

Think back to your last trade show. An attendee walks into the booth across from yours and quickly leaves. Why? He was either ignored or dismissed promptly without being qualified properly. This is a problem because when an attendee walks into a trade show booth, it means he has a reason to want to meet with that company. In your booth, it is your job to identify that reason and find a way to be helpful.

If your visitor wants something you sell, great; find out if the offering he wants is truly a good fit. If that attendee wants something you don’t sell, less great but still not awful; find out what he really wants and/or if you offer something that might fit anyway. If you can’t help the prospect, represent your company well by kindly suggesting someone else who may have the right solution, reiterating that should his needs change, you will be here to help.

In the future, remember this situation and learn from that hotel representative’s mistakes. If for no other reason, fully qualifying the prospects you meet is an important step in the sales process because it helps you move from stranger to sale without sullying your reputation.

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Two Questions to Close a Sale

Communications - Questioning Skills

Written by Mike Brooks

I was having breakfast with a client last Friday, Spike Count of the Baxa Company, in Denver right before a training program I was delivering, and we were talking about the importance of asking questions and listening.

He told me that a few years ago he was working for a company selling an IT solution and that while dealing with the Director of IT, he was suddenly in front of the new CFO and had to think fast! Here is what he did.

He said that while he was leaving a meeting with the Director, he asked him how he could get in front of the new CFO (knowing that the CFO was the ultimate decision maker). Just as he asked that question, an executive was walking down the hall toward them. The Director said, “That’s the new CFO right there. Let me introduce you to him.”

Spike was introduced to the CFO and he asked him, “I’d love to spend a few minutes with you and wondered when we could get some time on your calendar to do that?” To his surprise, the CFO said, “I have about 10 minutes right now, come on into my office.”

Spike was taken by surprise but followed the CFO into this office, sat down across the desk and the CFO said, “So, what’s on your mind?” Spike’s mind went blank and he just sat there for a moment. He hadn’t expected to be here at this time and found himself unprepared!

Luckily that didn’t last too long and before he knew it Spike said, “I have just two questions for you. First, when a client of yours leaves you and buys from someone else, what is the main reason for that? And second, what is the main reason a new client goes with you rather than your competition?”

1-16-12_article_4 After that he opened up his notebook, pen in hand, and waited.

And waited. And waited…

After nearly 5 full minutes (a nerve racking 5 minutes to be sure), the CFO finally began to speak. “That’s a great question and I’m going to have to think carefully about that. In fact, no one has ever asked me that before…”

The CFO then went on to give his thoughts about this, and, after they were done, he thanked Spike and promised to follow up with more information – which he did. After a few weeks, the CFO then followed up again and bought from Spike and his company. He said of the interaction: “The two questions you asked me were the best two questions I’ve ever been asked.

They forced me to evaluate the only two things that really mattered – what mattered most to our clients.”

Spike was obviously pleased with how this turned out, but he told me that the real lesson he learned from the interaction is just how long some prospects take to think about questions they are asked. He told me, “Since I was there when I asked the question, I could see he was carefully thinking about my questions. Since I could see that, I didn’t interrupt him – instead I just shut up and let him think.

“This situation revealed the real challenge we face as inside sales reps.

When we ask questions over the phone and don’t get an immediate response, we tend to keep talking. This is the worst thing we can do. We absolutely have to train ourselves to ask questions and then shut up and listen.”

When I asked him the best way to teach reps to do this, he said that using the mute button was the easiest and best way.

If you’ve read any of my work, then you know my favorite four words are, “Shut up and listen.” You also know that I think the mute button is the most important button on your phone. To prove this to yourself, make a commitment today to asking questions and using the mute button to let your prospect answer you. You’ll be surprised by what your prospects will reveal and how much easier it is to get deals.

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The Worst Question a Salesman Can Ask

Communications - Questioning Skills

Written by Mitchell Osak

Perhaps the most popular opener of many sales reps is the question: “What keeps you up at night?” A recent article in the Harvard Business Review by the authors of a new book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation says that this technique may prevent sales and reduce customer loyalty. According to Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson and proven through our consulting experience, a better strategy would be to redesign the entire sales experience.

Conventional wisdom underscored by numerous sales training programs says that the above question is a good beginning to a sales conversation. The objective is to identify a client’s burning needs so that the rep can promote his or her own solution aka help them sleep at night. No doubt, this approach has worked with many clients. However, it suffers from three important but habitually ignored flaws which limit its effectiveness:

1. Diagnosing needs by a sales rep is a very difficult undertaking, especially in real time. The more complex the product or problem, the tougher the process;

2. We have seen this seemingly innocuous question be perceived as disingenuous or cliché when delivered crudely and;

3. The question is based on an unproven assumption that companies including their agents will always understand or will admit to a stranger their true needs.

A new strategy

A better sales path would be to tell customers what they need to know. In essence, the sales person educates customers on problems and solutions that they may not be aware of. This isn’t your standard solution-selling approach, focused on open-ended needs diagnosis. Instead, this sales strategy emphasizes delivering valuable information to customers instead of extracting information from them. In effect, the sales rep assumes the role of a problem-solving, trusted advisor at the beginning of the conversation.

Customers benefit in many ways from this new approach. They get fact-based insights and solutions from the outset; they feel that they are not being “sold to” and; they experience real empathy for their concerns. These types of sales interactions will predictably improve closing rates, increase client satisfaction scores and enhance loyalty. In our research, sales outcomes improve for a variety of reasons: 1) a company or sales rep can more easily differentiate themselves, particularly in highly transactional or commodity markets; 2) delivering value up-front establishes an implicit obligation for the client to continue a conversation and; 3) providing rich insights clearly demonstrates corporate capabilities and knowledge.

Research-based findings

Dealings such as these are core elements of a client-centered sales experience, which has been proven by research to be the major driver of customer loyalty. Dixon and Adamson conducted a loyalty study on 5,000 business customers. The biggest driver by a factor of 2x is something most companies don’t even consider: the Sales Experience, which was identified as a loyalty driver by 53% of all customers. For perspective, Product & Service Delivery and Company & Brand Impact was each noted by 19% of the respondents. Interestingly, the Price-to-Value Ratio was identified as a customer loyalty driver by only 9% of respondents.

According to the study, customers will reward suppliers who offer a compelling sales experience which includes ”offering unique and valuable perspectives on the market” and “educate them on new issues and outcomes.” Simply put, loyalty and closing rates are more a function of how you sell than what you sell.

Turning theory into practice

Importantly, figuring out the right sales experience is not something to leave to your individual reps to figure out. The entire organization plays a part. For example, sales management has a key role in designing a differentiated, advisor-based experience based on a customer’s stated and hidden needs and the seller’s unique capabilities. Specifically, we have used the principles of behavioral psychology to help tailor the experience – messages, practices and process – to the customer’s unconscious drivers of feelings and behaviors. Finally, marketing plays a critical role in identifying and messaging the teachable insights and equipping reps with the sales tools to deliver them to customers.

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For More Sales Success,Ask the Right Questions

Communications - Questioning Skills

Written by Tony Cole

Asking the right question is always key to getting the right information. According to WIKI HOW, sales people spend too much time "pitching" and not enough time asking questions.

This practice also applies to real life. Let me illustrate.

My brother-in-law Mike and I spend some time together--fishing. We don't talk about his printing business or our business helping sales people achieve sales success. We spend time fishing, although with little success.

Mike called me recently and asked, "What does the 4th of July look like?" I replied, "It looks like the 5th, but a day earlier and it also looks like the 3rd, but a day later." Of course, Mike didn't really want to know "what the 4th looked like"; he wanted to know what we had planned for the 4th. But he didn't ask the right question and I didn't give him the right answer.

This happens often in the selling process. You ask a question that isn't well worded and get an answer you weren't expecting.

The Right Questions Asking the right question takes some forethought. As you plan for your next call with a prospect, consider the following. According to Seth Godin, people make decisions when something is happening to them that is not consistent with their worldview. Only when they are compelled to change, will they change. They will not change because your pricing went down or your benefits went up. They will change when they are ready to change.

In the sales process, when you want to know if someone is really committed to making a change, you need to ask this question: "Do you want to fix the problem or do you have to fix the problem?" Notice the words "want" or "have". "Want" means desire (not commitment) and "have to" means need.

The other question is "What happens if you don't fix the problem?" The answer of a committed prospect will indicate a "need", not a desire. You are looking for need.

As a salesperson, you also need to know if the prospect has money to fix the problem. You must ask the right question. "Do you have the budget to fix the problem?" is not the right question. "How much money will you invest to fix the problem?" is a better question. Or "Where will you find $25,000 to fix this problem and can you get that money?" are the right questions.

As you near the close in the sales process, "Can you make a decision to do this?" is not the right question. There are still many unknowns. You must find out about the decision making process- who is involved in the decision, when it will be made, who wins if there is a "tie" and how the prospect will handle firing the incumbent, if there is one.

Here are three more great questions to gain clarity about commitment and the next steps in the sales process:

"Do you think I understand your problem?"
"Do you think I can help?"
"Do you want my help?"

There is no doubt that asking the right question, whether on a sales call or about your next fishing trip, is critical. If you want the right answer, you must ask the right question.

It is a universal truth that often in a selling situation; salespeople will not ask the question because they do not want to disqualify a prospect. Be truthful, hasn’t this happened to you? The best part about mastering the art and science of asking questions is that you will become more courageous as you get more comfortable ‘drilling down’ with your conversation. This will not only help you become a better qualifier, it will help you clean the deadwood out of your sales pipeline. And that gives you more time for prospecting, the number one job for all salespeople.

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29 Questioning Tips

Communications - Questioning Skills

Written by Art Sobczak

I'm borrowing from one of my books to share 29 brief questioning tips with you. These come from Telephone Tips That SELL!- 501 How-To Ideas and Affirmations to Help You Get More Business By Phone.

Here are the questioning tips:

1. Use "playback," or "parrot" questions to get more information. Simply repeat, as a question, the key part of what the speaker just told you: "You've been having delivery problems?"

2. Question "fuzzy phrases" for clarification. If they say, "We'll give it some consideration, let's stay in touch," ask what specifically they will consider, when you should speak again, and why that's a better time.

3. Ask them how they "feel" about an issue. That might give you more information than asking what they "think" about it.

4. The word "Oh?" can be one of your most powerful questions.

5. Probing technique after hearing just a vague comment: "Which means . . . what, exactly?"

6. Be specific when looking for information. Don't use words like "a lot," "often," "much." As in, "Does that happen a lot?" Instead say, "How many times per day does that happen?"

7. You can use statements to probe. For example, "Steve, your thoughts on what you'd like to see in a landscape plan will help me provide you with the best information."

8. "I keep six honest serving men. Then taught me all I knew. Their names are What, Why, and When, and How, and Where and Who." Rudyard Kipling

9. Ask "assumptive-problem" questions that help you learn the details of their problems and needs. "Dale, about how often would you say your supervisors call in sick, when you feel they're really not?"

10. Get clarification on the fuzzy phrases. For example, what does, "We'll give it some consideration," really mean? Ask them, "That's good to hear. What, specifically will you be considering?"

11. Resist the tendency to jump into a presentation after uncovering just a sliver of a need. Continue questioning to further develop and embellish the need or problem.

12. If you get a question you'd prefer to defer until later, turn it around explaining why. "In order for me to quote you the very best price for the system that would meet your specific requirements, I'd like to learn a little more about . . ."

13. Use "loaded problem/benefit" questions. "Many of our customers found they were having problems getting their orders filled within seven days with the other service. What is your experience?"

14. When talking to a prospect who called you in response to your advertising, ask them, "What was it that caught your eye in the ad and prompted the phone call?" This can help you immediately zero in on their hot button
.
15. Before sending out information, ask, "Let's assume that you like what you see when you get it. What happens next?"

16. Use opposite choices when questioning to understand their desires. "Are you looking for deluxe office space in an office tower complex, or something more along the lines of an industrial park location?"

17. Avoid using the hanging "or . . ." when questioning, as in, "Is this something you'd use, or . . .?" It's confusing to the listener, and shows a lack of confidence. Just ask the question, then be silent.

18. Don't qualify your questions with wimpy words like, "I don't want to seem pushy, but . . .," or, "You might not want to answer this, but, . . ."

19. Any time you send out a sample or demo, always first ask, "What criteria will you use to evaluate it?"

20. With indecisive prospects you obviously have shown you can help, ask, "Pat, you're waiting for . . . what . . . . before we can work together?"

21. Avoid asking "What are your needs?" This expects them to do your job. Instead, pick out a specific need you can fill, and question about it: "What are you experiencing with downtime?"

22. Embellish the needs you uncover by layering more questions on their responses. For example, "And then what happened?" "What implications does that have on the other departments?" "How does that affect the bottom line?"

23. Question to learn the decision-making process: "What is the normal procedure at your company for making a decision like this?"

24. Help them imagine ownership, by saying, "Let's say you already owned this. How would you . . .?"

25. Whenever sending out a proposal, or when you're competing against other vendors for the business, ask, "What are the top three considerations you'll use to make your final decision?"

26. Any time you hear your prospect or customer mention someone else in the company with regards to what you're offering, ask them, "Oh, what do they do?" This helps you learn of all the players involved, and the process.

27. Customers buy based on value. But not what you think is value. It's what their perception of the value is. Ensure you know what they're looking for, then deliver it.

28. Avoid the use of "Really" as a question in response to their statements. It's meaningless, and annoying.

29. Ask prospects what criteria they used the last time they selected a supplier. Then ask if they learned anything useful from that process.

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Questioning Skills

Want Sales Success? Don’t Skip the Qualifying Step

Two Questions to Close a Sale

The Worst Question a Salesman Can Ask

For More Sales Success,Ask the Right Questions

29 Questioning Tips

Sales Articles

Sales Articles

Sales Articles