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Probing: Leading and Controlling with Questions

Written by: Kiven Wenman

Article Overview: What: is a probe Why: do we use probes Questions are one of the most powerful weapons in a salesperson’s arsenal of procedures and techniques. Questions require a prospect to participate actively in the sale. Questions help us learn the prospects hidden wants and needs. Questions give us time to gain lost composure. We must become excellent question askers and effective listeners.

Probing: Leading and Controlling with Questions



What: is a probe

Why: do we use probes

Questions are one of the most powerful weapons in a salesperson's arsenal of procedures and techniques. Questions require a prospect to participate actively in the sale. Questions help us learn the prospects hidden wants and needs. Questions give us time to gain lost composure.

We must become excellent question askers and effective listeners.

When sales people, particularly junior sales people are faced with client's problems they are so intent of doing a great job and solving problems that they do themselves and their clients a disservice by jumping in with an answer or solution.

What is sales? Leading someone in a direction that you know is good for them.

When you are talking, you're only learning what you Already know .

We push with Statements and we pull with Questions .

The reason we ask questions is to learn how to Lead, instead of being too strong with our opinions.

Questioning allows us to isolate areas of interest.

Questions can be used to stimulate negative/positive buying emotions.

They're also used to isolate an answer and overcome objections.

You must ask questions that a prospect can answer because if you say it, they doubt it. If they say it, it's true. Selling is not telling. Selling is asking questions to uncover the obstacles that are standing between you and the sale.

Always begin with open probes. Open probes allow the buyer to speak their mind.

Continue with open probes until you a) close for a commitment

b) change topic of discussion.

Sample Questions:

• Does your company look today like you thought it would when you established it? How's that?
• Why did you get into business for yourself?
• Why did you choose this industry?
• What do you like most about your role?
• What industry changes have you seen over the years?
• What are your future plans for the business?
• How has technology affected your business?

Use close probes to:

Isolate needs with un-responsive prospects

Direct the conversation to new issues

Confirm a suspected need

• Do you see how this could benefit you?
• Fair enough?
• Does that compare to what you are paying now?
• Does that make sense?
• Do you see how this could help you save money?
• Will this change give you a competitive edge?
• Are you ready to move forward?

A successful close has to be based on information willingly provided by the prospect regarding his/her needs and attitudes about your products benefits and any objections they may have. Thus the directing and controlling of the sales conversation is the most important skill in successful selling.

Practice Drill Rehearse:

• 1. Have a conversation using only open probes
• 2. Have a conversation using only closed probes

Notice how the conversation flows when you are only using closed probes.

Related Articles
  Build Customers’ Trust in You by Listening and Learning
  Being Politically Correct Can Cost You Sales
  The Art of Manifestation: When It Is Loving to Be Controlling
  Top Customer Sales Questions to Increase Profits in 2009
  Open, Leading and Closed Questions

Article Tags: close probes, listeners, open probes, powerful weapons, probes, prospects, sales questions
Referred by: http://jaykubassek.com



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Re: How to Promote a MLM Business? - I have to agree with several of the previous posts here. Having your own site so that you can get it ranked is a big one. Also, as stated above, using a "passive" recruiting style works really well. Leading by example, people will naturally want to follow you over time if you prove yourself a leader. Bottom line, if you are promoting your opportunity or products, you are losing sales. About 85% of the population hates to be sold. Promote YOU, build relationships and let the business fall in place after that. Bill
Re: Marketing ideas? - Questions will set you free... And make you Rich [quote="KH_Global":349pds7c]Just ask ask ask. That is it.[/quote:349pds7c]
Re: Contact Information - Another idea would be to have an email form in place to accept "ticketed" inquires (if people are afraid of spammers seeing their email address). However, I hate how some sites try to persuade you out of sending an email by bombarding you with lists of "Frequently Asked Questions & Answers" as I find they're rarely helpful.
Synergy and Other Creative Insights - Truth is that there is [u:2iwgooi1]C[/u:2iwgooi1]ollaboration - on a formal basis and [u:2iwgooi1]c[/u:2iwgooi1]ollaboration which is informal. Let's say that you have a great new product. Before it launches you get loads of buddies in the same business as you to tear it apart and let you refine it. Creative people will get others in as well. people from outside the business - or those who are in the business who might not have anything to do with it and seek their input - listening hard. These aren't focus groups, they are way beyond this - they are real outsiders and thus have very open minds, asking the dumb, the stupid questions, which are often the most valuable. Questions like these help me be a good coach too! I once worked in a business where the backshop (the store room) was always untidy. They held a team meeting and had the cook in as well (you know the one who ran the employee facility). She knew nothing about the storeroom and its processes, but boy did she ask some tricky questions of them. Sometimes, little 'c' collaboration is real good at the mocro level, without which the big 'C' collaboration would be worthless.
Re: link exchange strategy - [quote="RussellWebb":2xvcpjwz]Questions that pop into mind... Does PR ranking effect 'who' you would exchange links with? Do you really need thousands of links to rank higher in the SE's? Are one-way links better than reciprocal links?[/quote:2xvcpjwz] Hi Russell, While I know you posed these SEO questions for Samin, I thought I'd help you get the conversation started by putting in my 2 cents. 1.) I think it's all about getting "quality" and high ranking/trusted sites (that are related to the content of your site and industry) to link back to you. 2.) While it's somewhat true that the more links you have the better, I'd suggest focusing on "quality" links rather than quantity. Poor sites and ones that aren't related to your field can actually hurt your rankings. 3.) Absolutely, it's much better if someone only links to you. However, reciprocal links are still good for those who have just launched a new site and are getting started. If I'm wrong about any of these comments, please feel free to correct me.


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