Killer Sales Questions
Doyle Slayton | Jul 08, 2009 | Comments 20
Some sales people believe that it is their gift of gab that makes them successful. Sure, the ability to pitch a prospect is effective when closing quick, transactional, non-complex deals, but as the as the level of complexity rises, it requires the sales person to take a more sophisticated approach. The top sales people ask killer sales questions!
Eliminates the Sales Pitch – I find it very interesting when a sales person opens a discussion with the, “What do you know about us?” approach… and when the answer is “Not much.” The sales person takes that as an opportunity to roll out their five minute sales pitch. It isn’t long before the prospect begins yawning, responding with a bunch of distracted “uh huh’s”, and looking at their watch. Opening the conversation with a series of carefully crafted questions will flip this scenario on its head and eliminates the sales pitch!
Instigates Thinking – Prospects often fall into the status quo. First, they have been using the same product or service for many years and they are used to it. Second, they get all kinds of sales calls inviting them to look at something different. Couple those two points together and you get, “We are very happy where we are… we’ve been using this product/service for many years… we’re not interested”… click. High impact questions instigate thinking and break through the status quo. Ask a powerful question to get the prospect to verbalize a need, and you open a window of opportunity!
Paints a Picture – The best questions help the prospect and the sales person paint a picture of the current situation. It creates a story, adds perspective, determines value, and facilitates understanding. All of these elements build the business case for closing the deal.
Indicates Interest – If you’ve been in sales for more than a week, you are probably guilty of sometimes muscling your way into an appointment. Whether it be a first time call where you had all the answers, or a situation where the prospect has decided that the only way to get you to back off a little bit is to let you have 30 minutes of their time. In either case, the quality of the prospects responses is a key indication of their true level of interest.
So now you are thinking, “Great, let’s go do it… but… uh… what questions am I going to ask?” This is key, because not any old question will do. You have to ask great questions!
Last weekend I read the eBook Killer Sales Questions by Joe & Mike from the SalesRoundup Podcast. The book shares 43 of the best questions to ask during the sales cycle… from the discovery phase to the closing the deal. It is a short read, no fluff, high quality information that you can use on your next appointment and make an immediate impact! Use this Buy Now link to get your copy at a discounted price of $19.99 and you’ll also get a FREE bonus eBook, Coffee is for Closers!
What killer questions are you asking throughout your sales cycle?
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Filed Under: Blog • Featured • Fun-n-Stuff • Sales
That is a great post. Just yesterday I was thinking that part of my job for the first few weeks of a sales cycle is being a psychiatrist.
What is the problem your trying to solve? Why is that a problem? What is the impact on the business? What else have you done to fix it? Why didn’t that work? Who else has complained about this? What would they say?
And so on.
Questions are so important to understanding the true nature of the situation and making a determination of whether or not you can fix it.
1.It depends on what products we sell.
2.It depends on who is person we approach.
3.It depend on our mood and their mood.
4.It depend on our experience to approach.
So, improvisations is very important, in a way there is no best words to ask a question.
This was a very useful re-read. Sometimes I forget to step back and LISTEN so this was a nice reminder. Thanks for the recommendation!
I agree that high pay-off questions are critical. My observation from training thousands of salespeople over the years is that even if they get to the questions, they don’t effectively set up the framework for for those questions, one that the buyer agrees to. That engagement step and buy-in for a conversation makes it much easier to have a meaningful discussion that can lead to business.
We relocate equipment, I can relate I think you have to roll and change with how the customer responds. It doent mater what you are selling. I totally agree with this Blog, the customer doesnt want to be bored even if what you are selling is better. Its all about forming relationships. Last week I was at an auction and I talked to a guy that said no I excusively use your competiotor. Opening the door for my reply. I asked what exactly do you do? very interested I said wow you must travel alot. Before you know it we were talking about our wives. Two days later we were moving 3 machines for this person. I hope I didnt put anyone to sleep with this.
This is a helpful post. I frequently write on the topic of sales questions, and am always interested in learning more. One frequent assumption people make about asking questions is that simply by knowing the best questions and asking them, our sales opportunities will improve. Unfortunately, this is not true.
Jim Collins wrote “create an environment where the truth is heard.” If my intent is to sell something to my prospect, that doesn’t guarantee that he or she will open up and provide me answers. So, if I don’t create the right environment for meaningful discussion, or if my prospect simply doesn’t trust my intentions, the best questions in the world won’t help me.
I recommend Mahan Khalsa’s book “Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play” for the best insight about how salespeople should think about intent, and what intent means for trust.
Also, for those who want to build a framework of questions, consider the objective of uncovering risks and opportunities–for both salesperson and prospect. Any salesperson who doesn’t focus on uncovering his or her own risks and opportunities in the sales process will consistently underperform. A paper I wrote on the related topic of sales lead qualification can be found through http://www.tidwit.com/outsidetechnologies.
As some people have already mentioned, it’s all about the relationship. A killer question alone won’t do it. It will appear rehearsed and insincere. As Mike recounted, getting past the professional stance and into the personal allows the client to relax and listen. Your willingness, as a salesperson, to be vulnerable and human gives your client a chance to see who you really are.
I understand, but…
Whether I’m a Rep or the President, my job is to quickly establish rapport, layout my proposition, and ask for the money. It is only after the prospect says “no”, that my work begins. I’m getting paid to Influence people.
Listen, acknowledge the objection, reiterate the benefit, and ask for the money…simple. Repeat as needed.
Most salespeople are very intelligent, talented, and knowledgeable, yet mediocre at best. They waste countless hours engineering every possible technical/tactical / psychological argument designed to have the prospect beating down the door for their services. Anything and everything to avoid “asking for the money”. Maybe it actually happened once…by the way, I’ll have fries with that…
Personal relationships only develop as the result of the professional relationship…and rarely at that. If I knew everything about my Mechanic, I might not take my car there…if I knew everything about my Doctor, I may want to choose another, and surely if I knew everything about my Attorney, I wouldn’t let him in the house!! Yet, they’re each the best in their respective businesses, serve me well, and are therefore an asset. And oh yes, every time I see one of them, they ask me for money.
I strongly agree with Craig here, the old saying can not see the wood for trees applies, salespeople are so busy trying to be clever when all they really need to do is focus on the out come which is getting the deal, sure questions help but most sales people avoid the close as they have a fear of the big NO, i love the NO as it means they can make a decision… turning NO in to YES is where sales people earn their money!
Yes, preparing your questions beforehand is essential.
But, the most important trait a sales person can have is the ability to have an intelligent conversation with their clients and prospects. That means that despite having a fistful of great questions those questions must be delivered in a manner that promotes conversation. It must NOT feel like an interrogation to the prospect.
On those political interview shows on Sunday morning, how much time do you think they spend preparing for those eight minutes with the Senator? If you’ve spent hours and hours trying to get that appointment with a senior guy why do you think you should prepare any less?
Anyone who goes into a situation like that just winging it is doomed to failure.
Bob
http://www.bettersellsolutions.com
Nice article – I agree. It also stops you sounding like a sales person (which is refreshing for the prospect).
Why do they care about your features, benefits & accolades? They don’t! They want to know how you can fix their problem, but if you don’t know what their ‘real’ problem is you can’t help them and they’ll be unwilling to give you the business because you didn’t truly listen or try to understand them.
Good questioning/understanding builds exceptional rapport and trust too.
Danny Kitchener
interim.sales.consultant@gmail.com
As I read these postings I see a true benefit in what everyone is saying. To first get the business in the beginning a salesperson needs to know how to close down every single call and appointment to keep moving the process forward and continuously ask for the business. The true trust and relationships are built from the selling process not before. In the end how close of a relationship you wish to have with your clients comes down how much of a comfort level you have.
Great postings.
Joel Running
The more curious you are, the easier it is to be comfortable with asking lots of investigative questions. If curiousity is not your natural behavioral style, this Killer Sales Question book would be a great reference guide.
Doyle,
Thanks for another thought-provoking discussion.
For me, the key is to get the prospect to open up about his or her strategic and tactical goals. Then I like to find out the pains they are experiencing doing it the current way. Most of this happens after asking questions that cannot be answered yes or no (i.e. Tell me how you manage your marketing team today.).
If there is a fit, I offer solutions that are in line with their strategic and tactical goals. If there is not a fit, I recommend solutions that I might not be selling and try to establish a friendship with a prospect who may one day need me or refer me to a decision maker at another company.
Like it was said earlier, there is no one right way to sell. It all depends on what you’re selling, who your target market is, and your prospect’s particular situation.
Kind regards,
Emanuel Carpenter
Author of “Dead Guys Don’t Buy”
Sorry to be critical here, and with all due respect to Emanuel Carpenter I believe he is on the wrong track. Just look at what he wrote:
“For me, the key is to get the prospect to open up about his or her strategic and tactical goals. Then I LIKE TO (emphasis mine) find out the pains they are experiencing doing it the current way. Most of this happens after asking questions that cannot be answered yes or no (i.e. Tell me how you manage your marketing team today.).”
Could this be any more self-serving? “THEN I LIKE TO…” , who cares what you want to do!!!
How about replacing “…to get the prospect to…” with “…to engage the prospect in a thoughtful discussion of…”.
And, if anyone very asked me “Tell me about how you manage your marketing team today” I’d respond, “none of your damn business”. How about a question like “I’ve seen lead generation done a number of different ways and I’m really curious about how you do it and whether it is effective for you. What seems to work for you and what isn’t working?”
Lastly, there IS a wrong way to sell, and that is to sound like you are trying to sell something.
I stand by my assertion, that your job is to have an intelligent conversation with your prospect. Intelligent conversations do the following:
- They uncover what the prospect is trying to fix, accomplish or avoid in a non-confrontational, information-gathering way.
- They present your offer in a way that goes directly toward the above. Everything you say will go directly to their need.
- It establishes tremendous credibility. And, if you don’t have credibility, you don’t have a sale.
Zig Ziglar said it best when he said “You can get everything you want by helping others get what they want.” Amen to that!
I apologize in advance if I offended Emanuel.
Bob
No offense taken Bob. I’ve been successful in sales. I hope you have been as well.
-Emanuel
Hi Bob,
I had to butt in here because I think you’re wrong and that is because people buy what they want not necessarily what they need. As a simple example. I need to go to the Dentist but I certainly don’t want too. Hence I’ll put it off for as long as possible. However I do want a Ferarri.
Great sales questions find where needs and wants converge. Its also interesting that the Zig Ziglar quote you cite refers to wants not needs
Rgds
Laurence
LOL…looks like I just dove head-first into roiling rapids. That’s OK with me, I’m a good swimmer. ;0)
To Scott: I agree. Whether you are a few weeks, months, or minutes into the sales cycle – psychology (or psychiatry if you represent pharmaceuticals
plays a major role in the outcome, your goal of “effecting a cure” and, ultimately, a sale.
To Deborah – I appreciate your mention of authenticity. The most unaware prospect will have a feeling for a lack of it (even if they can’t or won’t articulate it) and that feeling erodes trust. For all but the simplest of sales, trust is necessary.
To Craig and Rob: What I know about you personally I can stick in my eye and still see out of, but as sales professionals you should know that positive influence only comes through a healthy understanding of your audience. What if, through that increased understanding, you turned more “no” responses to “yes” before the “no” ever crystallized? Wouldn’t that help pave the way for only the most relevant objections centered around logistics and resources? I’m not trying to tell you how to sell; like I said I don’t know you. I’m merely honoring some thoughts you possibly did not consider before fashioning your response(s)…
To Ann – All hail CURIOSITY! With that in mind, I’ve never read a book that I couldn’t take at least one thing from…
To BobH – How can you assume that Emmanuel isn’t having thoughtful, intelligent discussion in his effort to find out the pain they are experiencing along with the strategic and tactical goals of his prospect? In my experience, open-ended questions light the flame of the higher-level discussions on which you place so much value…What makes you so certain that what both of you are saying is really that far apart?
Taken as a whole and with an advance apology for those it doesn’t apply to, I’ve seen a lot of discussion here around the value of questioning and listening skills, but not many specific answers to the actual question that Doyle proposed:
What killer questions are you asking throughout your sales cycle?
I don’t know if my answer to that question would qualify as “killer”, but here’s one centered around the idea of “instigating thinking” that I like to ask myself as well as internal or external clients with whom I come into contact:
What have you learned today?
Hope this helps,
Victor Valerga
Many opinions are that “cold calling doesn’t work for us/our business/product/service.”
What business are you in and does cold calling work for you?
Danny
Killer sales questions to eliminate the sales pitch, prospect and close deals. http://bit.ly/lYLFw
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