Questioning Secrets Revealed

When you get on the phone to your prospective customer, consider that they may be having a really bad day. If the initial reaction to your call is negative, the client may not be reacting to your message. It may be that something else is taking their focus at the time, and your call is an unwelcome intrusion in their day.

Try asking if they have a couple of minutes to talk right now, and if not, when would be a good time to call again. Learn to listen to the response you get. If it’s terse, if they try to cut you short, take the hint and try again. This isn’t meant to be a course about telesales – there are plenty of them out there. However, what you will learn from this course are the techniques to use rather than the things to say. They will stand you in good stead when correctly used.

Remember that communication is the response you get. It’s what comes back when you say something. Put another way, ask a silly question and get a silly answer. So you must learn how to ask the right kind of questions at the right time.

So we need to learn how to ask appropriate questions.

There are three types of questions you can ask., (“Three?” I hear you ask. “I’ve only ever been taught about two.”). The three question types are closed, open and “tell me about”

The closed question.

These are questions that result in yes or no, either / or answer. Questions like

o “Did you want that in yellow or blue?”

o “Will that be cash or credit?”

o “Do you come here often?”

These questions are used to gain specific information, and should be used sparingly. They are often used to confirm details such as “Was that for the passenger or driver’s side of the vehicle?” when told that the buyer wants an external mirror for their car.

Too many closed questions strung together in a sentence make the recipient feel as though they are being cross-examined. Not very comfortable for them, and certainly not very professional on your part.

The open question.

Open questions ask for information. They are used to stimulate and encourage discussion.

Questions such as

“What are the key factors of your capital equipment replacement policy?”

“How would you describe your school’s computer education outcomes?”

Open questions require the other person to reveal details about themselves or about the topic of discussion.

Open questions begin with the words “Who, what, when, where, how”.

These questions should be used far more frequently than closed questions (unless you’re a detective!). They take practice, however, and a sign of an unskilled or lazy salesperson is their all too frequent use of closed question.

Practice the art of open questions, and you’ll be very pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

The “Tell me about” question. (My personal favourite.)

This is the question you ask when you’re not asking a question!

For example, “Tell me about your staff Superannuating scheme” is likely to result in you gaining a massive amount of information. As you listen, you might want to get some specifics about certain aspects of the answer. If so, ask something like “And can your staff choose to have a higher rate of Superannuating deduction from their salary if they want?” and you will get a yes or no response with perhaps a little more added detail.

Let me share an example with you.

Several years ago, I needed a gearbox for a vehicle. I called the parts shop and said I needed a gearbox for my early model Ford. The salesperson went on to ask me a series of closed questions about my car. Was it an `84 model? Was it this; was it that?

I finally got the answer I wanted (price and availability) and rang another business to get a second price. Their salesperson said “Tell me about your Ford, mate”.

I told him the year, model etc. He replied straight away with price and availability, and then asked me if I wanted it delivered, or would I pick it up.

Two appropriate questions and he made the sale. It’s a lesson I’ve never forgotten.

Your first exercise, then, for this week is to start using open and tell - me - about questions more often. The risk you take here is that if you don’t listen for the answer, you won’t benefit.
Remember: you have two ears and one mouth – try to use them in that order.

You see, if you’re used to asking closed questions, you will be used to hearing short, precise answers. Now that you’re asking open questions, you will have to listen more intently to collect the gems of information you need to identify problems you can solve.

Questioning Secrets Revealed - To learn more about this author, visit James Yuille's Website.

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