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NIQCL it for understanding

Guest post by: Patrick T. Malone

Article Overview: "Many failures in sales initially seem like a success to the rep! They get their perception of the facts, and propose a solution that makes sense to them. The problem is they didn't get the customer's perception of the facts, so their solution may not be sensible to the customer."

NIQCL it for understanding

"Many failures in sales initially seem like a success to the rep! They get their perception of the facts, and propose a solution that makes sense to them. The problem is they didn't get the customer's perception of the facts, so their solution may not be sensible to the customer."



Effective listening skills are the key to correctly "reading a situation" or "sizing up a problem." The ability to solve problems, resolve differences and capture opportunities involves these listening skills coupled with another skill, the ability to analyze a situation. This analysis requires asking the right questions to clarify problems, needs, wants and opportunities--what your customers have now compared to what they'd rather have. This analysis helps you discover your customer’sperception of the "facts."

Following is a questioning sequence called NIQCL that is highly effective for analyzing needs, problems or opportunities in depth. With the factual information this in-depth probing sequence gives you, you'll be able to form "tailored" solutions that lead to cooperation, teamwork, buy-in and added sales.

Need: What’s wrong? What’s the objective? Does a problem or opportunity exist? Sales are produced by solving a problem for your customer or helping them capture an opportunity. So an essential part of the sales process is identifying that need i.e. growing my practice, increasing my feline business, increasing my customer’s compliance, etc.

Importance: How serious is it? Is it a priority? Never assume that the customer’s first response is the only problem or opportunity or that it is their top priority. Sometimes your customer is testing to see if you actually care. So when you uncover the initial need asking “what else?” is always a good idea. If there are multiple needs, ask your customer to prioritize them because your priorities may not be theirs.

Quantify: What is the size and scope of the need? My general rule of thumb is unless I have 3 numbers associated with the problem, I probably do not fully understand the size and scope of the problem. It may be a single number (4 patients a week) extrapolated (times 52 weeks or 208 per year) to its full size and scope ($75/visit in lost revenue or annual missed revenue of more than $15K).

Consequences: What is its impact and effect? What if it's not solved? This is the payoff question for professional reps across the industry. If there are no consequences to doing nothing (“we’ve been living with this for 10 years.”) you will never close the sale. Remember all change involves some level of perceived or real pain for your customer. So the pain of doing nothing has to be greater than the perceived pain associated with the change. Therefore consequences will have a factual impact ($15K in missed revenue) and an emotional impact (“I don’t feel I’m serving my feline patients properly”)

Look / Listen: Once you have all the information above you can transition into your solution (Let me share with you the details of BI’s “have we seen your cat” promotion).

These NIQCL questions, when used with the respect acknowledgments discussed in the last issue of Vet-Advantage magazine:

- help determine another person's perception of the facts,

- increase your own awareness of their needs,

- generate the data on which customized and personalized solutions can be formed, and

- lead to well-informed and committed decisions.

You can also use NIQCL as a series of statements when you want to share your perceptions with others.

“Customer compliance is one of the biggest challenges in preventing heartworm.” (need) “In fact according to AAHA, sporadic compliance is the number one challenge facing the industry as a whole.” (importance) “Recent surveys indicate that less than 50% of the 45 million canines on a heartworm preventative are receiving the prescribed dosage at the correct intervals. Gaps can range for a 5- 7 days to 2 – 3 months” (quantify) “As a result we have many vulnerable canines out there and the DVM is likely to be the initial target of the owner’s wrath if their dog contracts the problem.” (consequences). “So let me show you xyz program that is designed to make compliance easier for everyone involved.” (look/listen)

NIQCL is a very versatile tool and once you really understand another person's perception of a problem or they understand your perspective, you will have a much easier time responding with a solution that will satisfy them. This is an essential ability for customer service, sales and any other situation in which you need to gain the commitment or support of your customers.

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Article Tags: Information, Probing



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