The essence of sales is qualifying prospects and motivating them toward a buying decision. The best way to do this is over the phone or in person. When you’re having a conversation, work these questions into your dialog. Pick and choose the best questions for each stage of discussion. Their answers will give you the keys to a happy new client:
- So that I’m not wasting your time, do you mind if I get your answers to a few questions?
- Why did you agree to meet with me today?
- What are the challenges you’re working to fix?
- What have you done so far to try and resolve this particular problem?
- What are the implications of this problem on your role? The business?
- How are you personally measured for success?
- What can you tell me about your personal priorities?
- How does this project rank in priority compared to the others you’re working on?
- How will the funding for the project be justified?
- Who else do you normally work with on these types of decisions?
- What can you tell me about the people involved in the process?
- What else can you tell me about the decision-making process?
- How do you handle budget considerations?
- What do you see as a logical next step in our conversation?
- What other options are you considering?
- How will you be evaluating different options?
- What obstacles could get in the way of moving this forward?
- How will you be using our product?
- How does this sound like a solid next step…?
- Who is your best sales partner and why?
- What else should I know about your business?
- What haven’t I covered yet that is important to you
- What is your timeline for implementing this type of offering?
- What concerns do you have?
- How much support does this have at the executive level?
- If I can get “x” for you, can you get me “y”?
- So is this what you’re looking for?
- It looks like a good fit for you. Shall we move forward?
- Here’s our process for getting everything settled…are you good with that?
- Do we have ourselves a deal? 🙂
The most important thing about sales questions is listening intently to the answers. Too often, salespeople ramble on or try to fill dead air. Let your customer guide you through the process, they’re the one with the credit card.
So, which questions did we leave off that you like to use?
Sources:
Inside Sales Experts (LinkedIn Group)
Jill Konrath (@jillkonrath)
Geoffrey James (@sales_source)