Salespeople love to tell people all about themselves and how great their products or services are. Let me give you an example. I recently met with a Business Development Director of a small company. The service he was selling was awesome.
He carried on for the better part of 90 minutes telling me all the wonderful things that could be done with his service. I would have probably bought from him on the spot, if he had only stopped talking long enough to ask me meaningful questions about what was important to me.
I don’t mean the kind of questions that can be answered with a yes or no. Salespeople are notorious for saying things like, “Is that something you’re interested in?” Usually after making some obvious statement like, “It can save you money.”
Most salespeople spend too much time telling and not enough time asking. And when they do ask, they ask the wrong questions the wrong way. So what are the right questions and how do you ask them?
Start by finding out about the person you’re meeting with. If you’re selling business to business, you then move on to company-related questions. From there, you can determine needs by asking appropriate need/want questions.
Obviously, the specific questions you ask will vary depending on who you are talking to. The key with any questions is to ask it and then LISTEN. Your next question will come to you naturally if you truly listen to the answer that the other person gives you.
For example, your conversation with a prospect may go something like this:
You: So Bob, tell me how you got in your current position of Vice President of Marketing.
Prospect: Well, I worked my way up from a marketing and sales position with the company. I’ve been here for about nine years. It all started when I was recruited from MBA school.
You: Really, where did you go to school.
Prospect: I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University.
You: What made you choose their program?
Do you see how the conversation just naturally evolves? When you listen and don’t try to ask pre-programmed questions, you have a great opportunity to learn what’s important to your prospect and why. Your relationship will naturally develop when you stop telling and start asking.
Stop Telling - To learn more about this author, visit Will Turner's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
