Questions asked the right way, lead you closer to the sale.
Questions asked the right way, uncover opportunity.
Questions asked the right way, create a bond between you and the prospect based on a belief that you can help you them.
Ask questions the wrong way, and you will accomplish none of this.
What’s the wrong way to ask questions?
Well there’s one way I know of that can be really damaging…
It’s where the seller asks a question, but he’s really just pushing features he has to sell.
I was thinking this morning about approaching a potential new business partner to products for my wife’s business.
And I imagined how dumb it would be if I asked…
“Do you have a lot of women on your customer list aged 30-55 years old?”
This would be dumb, because he could reply by saying “Well I have both men and women in that age range. So your product is mostly for women? Hmm, I dunno, my prospects aren’t only women…”
See, I would have just screwed myself.
By asking a leading question to see if he wanted what I was selling, I would have immediately disqualified myself. He would now be thinking that I *only* have a product offer appropriate for a market of women aged 30-55 years old, when in fact this product is not limited to just women, or that age demographic.
You need to be neutral when you question.
Your goal is to find out what the prospects needs and pains are.
His needs and pains, not yours.
So don’t color your questions with information about your product.
Focus on diagnosing the prospect’s problem. What’s happening. Why. What’s needed to fix things.
Ask questions the right way, and you’ll get closer to the sale.
Sell with Pride,
Shameless Shamus Brown
