About Glenn StevickPeople like to talk about themselves. It makes us feel important, needed and liked. By asking questions, you put the prospect in the limelight and get them talking. That is what you want. The more questions you ask, the more they talk and the more likely you are to find that “hot button” that will lead to a sale. If you are talking more than twenty percent of the time, you are talking too much. The more you get clients to talk about themselves, the higher the probability that they will give you the information you need to sell to them.
You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers.
You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006) Egyptian novelist, Nobel Prize Laureate
Effective Questioning
Establishing rapport and connecting with a prospect has more to do with listening than telling and selling. The way to listen and understand what a prospect wants and needs is to ask good questions. So how does one ask good questions? The following graphic provides 10 tips for asking good questions.
10 Tips on How to Ask the Right Questions
1. Prepare some of your questions in advance.
Certain basic questions that come up in every interview can be planned in advance. By carefully planning them, you can make sure you cover all bases and that your wording is precise.
2. Ask open-ended and indirect questions.
Closed questions that call for a “yes” or “no” answer tend to discourage people from talking. Ask open-ended questions that require prospects to tell you how they feel, what they want, or what they think.
3. Ask need development questions.
You want to get your prospect to tell you what he or she needs. Therefore, frame questions that will give you insights into how prospects perceive their needs.
4. Ask questions that help you identify dominant needs.
Usually there is an overriding need in the prospect’s mind, a need you can pinpoint by asking the right questions.
5. Ask questions that help you pinpoint the dominant buying motivations.
Buying motivations and needs are not always the same. Buying motivations have to do with desires, feelings, tastes, and so on.
6. Avoid offensive questions or asking questions in an insensitive way.
Some questions can offend prospects and cause them to distance themselves from you.
7. Start with broad questions, then move toward questions with a narrower focus.
Broad questions can help you get things rolling and steer you in the right direction.
8. Ask questions that are easy to answer.
Questions that require knowledge the prospect doesn’t have can often make a person feel stupid.
9. Use questions to guide the interview and keep it positive in tone.
Some people love to ramble on and on, but by skillfully using questions, you can keep the interview focused and moving in the right direction.
10. Ask… then shut up and listen!
The prospect can’t talk while you’re talking. More importantly, you can’t learn while you’re talking.
Reprinted with permission. Bill Brooks was the Founder of The Brooks Group and a world-renowned expert on hiring, sales management, business development, and sales. For more information about sales training, contact The Brooks Group (www.brooksgroup.com) at (800) 633-7762.
The best example of how not to appeal and connect with a prospect is the telemarketer calling you. He or she says hello, then jumps into a script (most likely read) that never asks you a question. You get the feeling you are being treated like everyone else this person calls, and that is because you are. Questions personalize the relationship because you get specific information that allows you to address
the prospect as an individual.
There are several reasons why questions are so essential in developing your relationship with a prospect.
1. Questions put you in control of the interaction.
2. Questions demonstrate your interest in the prospect.
3. Questions allow you to learn more about the prospect.
4. Questions allow you to engage the prospect and get the prospect to do most of the talking.
5. Questions help you to find out when, where, how, and why a prospect will buy a product or service.
6. Questions show that you are more interested in learning about the prospect than talking about your own concerns or interests.
7. Questions give you time to think about what the prospect is saying.
8. Questions display professionalism and your interest in doing a thorough job.
9. Questions position you as a problem solver, rather than someone who uses a one-size-fits-all approach.
10. Questions prepare you to present your products and services in exactly the way the prospect wants to see them.
How would you feel if an advisor approached you and asked a number of meaningful questions, such as “What is your most important personal goal?” or “How would you like to spend your retirement?” You would be happy that the advisor cared enough about you to ask them, wouldn’t you? Especially if that advisor was in a position to help you with your needs and asked these questions in a way that showed genuine concern.
Conversely, how would you feel if an advisor met you and started talking about himself and what he and his company could do for you and gave you no opportunity for input? No so great, right? You probably wouldn’t be so receptive or willing to listen to the person who shows up with all the answers, or isn’t willing to listen to you.
The problem with the advisor who shows up with all the answers and great ideas is that he or she has not taken the time to learn what is on your mind and could totally miss your main concerns. This kind of advisor is also not terribly interesting to talk to since he or she is too busy with his or her own agenda to engage you in a meaningful conversation and exchange of ideas. Who are you more likely to trust?
Selling requires focusing on and engaging the buyer. The best way to do this is by using questions. However, there is far more involved in using this technique than just showing up and firing off a bunch of questions in the hope of making a sale.
Some salespeople believe that the sale is made in the closing interview, while others believe that it is actually made during the process of gathering information.
Regardless of where it occurs, this process of uncovering and discovering goals, assets, liabilities, fears, lifestyle dreams, and concerns certainly has a profound impact on every sale. Your success in selling will depend upon your ability to conduct interviews that not only gather information, but help the buyer to identify, understand, and desire to solve his or her needs now.
It is important that the prospect understand why you are asking personal questions. Fact-finding involves the sharing of private and sensitive information, including financial details, family relationships, business issues, attitudes, values, and goals that are normally kept to oneself. Disclosing these matters requires a good reason and a lot of trust. Be prepared to answer the question, “Why do you need to know that?” If you do not know why you need to know something, or cannot clearly state a reason why you need to know, you probably should not be asking for that information.
To create an active exchange of ideas and information, give your own examples in rephrasing the prospect’s statements. Change the pace when you feel the prospect’s attention is lagging. Continually check for any nonverbal cues the prospect gives. Respond to the last comment or answer from the prospect to clarify the conversation. Ask yourself what the prospect really means. If you are unsure, ask clarifying questions, such as “I didn’t understand you when you said you were confused about saving for retirement. Can you make that more clear for me?”
In the next part of this series we will cover some specific scenarios and the questions you could ask to elicit the response you want.
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