{"id":11522,"date":"2018-08-24T20:44:17","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T20:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/how-use-different-kinds-questions-improve-your-selling\/"},"modified":"2024-08-22T04:40:27","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T04:40:27","slug":"how-use-different-kinds-questions-improve-your-selling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/how-use-different-kinds-questions-improve-your-selling\/","title":{"rendered":"Questioning Strategies for Enhanced Sales Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

As a professional salesperson, you\u2019re a business consultant. That means you get paid to uncover the very best answers to the most important questions — until you understand the prospect\u2019s situation well enough to either offer a viable solution or walk away. To do that, you must ask open-ended questions<\/a> with a clear purpose, questions that move your sales process forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

With that goal in mind, consider this brief overview of effective early-phase questioning strategies in four critical categories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Rapport-Building Questions<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Instead of starting a sales conversation with your favorite features and benefits of your product or service, which is what most salespeople do, engage prospects<\/a> with connecting questions designed to help you build rapport with the other person.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you do just a little homework before calling on your prospects, you will know something about them, their companies, their markets and their industry \u2026 and you can use that knowledge to frame your initial questions. With a few relevant and meaningful questions posed early on in the relationship, you will not only show interest and build a connection with your prospects, but you will also build credibility.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For example:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I understand that when you took over the division, your first initiative was to\u2026 How quickly were you able to accomplish that?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Has the migration of similar companies into the region changed the way you do business?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What impact, if any, have the state\u2019s new tax incentives for capital investment had on your business?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There have been a lot of changes in your industry over the last 10 years \u2026 what\u2019s been the biggest shift from your perspective?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cGround Rules\u201d Questions<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s always important to set up a mutually agreeable structure for your discussions with prospects and customers. At Sandler, we call this structure an Up-Front Contract. Such a contract sets clear expectations about the purpose of the discussion, the prospect\u2019s agenda, our agenda, the time available, and the expected outcome of the interaction. The following questions will help you to set or reconfirm such a contract in an initial meeting with a prospect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Thanks for inviting me over today. Since we spoke on the phone, has anything changed?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So do we still have [45 minutes] to try to understand whether or not we might be a good fit?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Will you be comfortable with me asking you lots of questions about [insert two or three major topics]? You can ask me anything, too, of course; is that fair?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Let me ask: If I didn\u2019t think that we could help you, would you be OK if I told you so? And will you be OK extending the same courtesy to me if you ever feel that we\u2019re not the right fit for your needs?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When we get to the end of the meeting, if we\u2019re both happy to move on to the next stage — and I have no idea yet what that might look like — let\u2019s agree to scope it out and set a date in both of our calendars. That way we can make sure we both stay on target. Does that make sense?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

(For more on Up-Front Contracts, see\u00a0this video<\/a>.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Questions That Get the Ball Rolling<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The following questions will help you to gain momentum and begin gathering information on the issues that matter most to the prospect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Would it make sense to start by telling me the single thing that gives you the most concern about _______ right now?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How were you hoping I might be able to help?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most of our new clients tell us that they\u2019ve never bought this kind of thing before. Would it make sense for me to tell you a little bit about \u00a0the types of companies we work with and the problems we solve, and our organization and how we do things \u2026 and then you can tell me about yours? Are you comfortable with that?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When we spoke, you mentioned that _______ is an issue for you. How long have you been thinking about\/dealing with that?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most of our time is spent helping businesses like yours. Can you tell me a little bit about how you go about dealing with _______ at the moment?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Questions That Clarify the Real Issue<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At Sandler, we define \u201cpain\u201d as the emotional gap between where the person is right now and where he or she wants to be. If there is no pain, there is no sale! The following questions will help you to get a clearer picture on the prospect or customer\u2019s current level of pain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How serious would you say the problem is right now, today?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In your opinion, what\u2019s the real problem?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Have you ever considered giving up on solving this issue?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If the situation didn\u2019t improve, or even got worse, how concerned do you imagine you or the business would be?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What do you think this issue has cost the business over, say, the last six months? [Or whatever the appropriate timeframe is.]<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Use Effective Questions to Position Yourself and Your Organization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Effective questioning strategies, like those you have just read, will give you a much clearer picture of what the other person feels, believes, wants to know, or understands. This is the secret to positioning yourself and your organization as a trusted resource: being genuinely curious about the other person\u2019s world \u2026 qualifying the opportunity \u2026 and then and only then leveraging your organization\u2019s experience and resources to create a customized solution for the problem you\u2019ve uncovered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most salespeople don\u2019t position themselves as this kind of expert. You can. How? The first step is to start using the kinds of questions I have just shared with you in the early phases of the business relationship. These questions will instantly set you apart from your competition. Take advantage of them to build better connections and close more deals<\/a>!<\/p>\r\n

Did you find this helpful? Explore our programs and enhance your sales skills with Sandler’s result-driven training<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a professional salesperson, you\u2019re a business consultant. That means you get paid to uncover the very best answers to the most important questions — until you understand the prospect\u2019s situation well enough to either offer a viable solution or walk away. To do that, you must ask open-ended questions with a clear purpose, questions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":11523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1120],"tags":[1049,1105,1136,1177],"class_list":["post-11522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-sales-management","tag-sales-process","tag-sales-success","tag-sales-techniques"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOpen-Ended Questions for Sales Success | Sandler Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unlock the power of open-ended questions to revolutionize your sales conversations. 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