by John Carroll

In sales, we all acknowledge the importance of questions. Often, however, we don't use questions correctly. If asking questions is your single most indispensable aid in every step of the buying/selling process, why is it so often misused?

First, let’s look at why questions are so valuable.

Questions give you a chance to learn. We learn when we’re listening, not when we’re talking. Asking questions can prompt the prospect or customer to share information critical to the sale.

Questions give you a chance to listen. This is easily the most underrated and underused element of communication. When you ask a question that encourages your prospect to speak at length, especially about a topic pertinent to the sale, you can listen and build trust with your prospect at the same time.

Questions can position you as a consultative seller. The higher quality questions you ask, the more credible you become in the eyes of your prospect. Asking general questions such as, "How many people work here?" falls short of "How does the current labor market impact your ability to find and keep good people?"

Questions can give you important competitive information. Often, you learn more about your competition from your prospects and customers than from any other source. Customer impressions of competitive offerings can provide your best insights in keeping tabs on your competitors.

Questions help you move the sale along. Basic tools such as the trial close, to check your progress at any point in the sale, help ensure you haven’t lost your customer in what might otherwise be a hailstorm of uninteresting product information.

Questions help you get the business. According to research, asking for the order happens in only 50 percent of sales conversations. In many cases, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Questions help you get referrals. Asking for referrals can be the most valuable part of your sales and marketing plan. Most often, you get referrals only when you ask for them.

Discussing vs. probing
While we all acknowledge that probing questions are essential, most of us probe as though we're entering a dark room without a flashlight: tentatively and apprehensively. Others take an overpowering approaching by barraging a prospect with questions. If you were the prospect and a sales professional began to probe you for information, how comfortable would you feel? A picture that comes to mind is the interrogation room in a dungeon where a single overhead light shines in the eyes of your prospect.

In his work on empathizing with others, Stephen Covey talks about the invasive nature of questions. That’s exactly why a customer who feels if he or she is being "probed" can become uncomfortable and begin to show discomfort through short answers and protective body language.

In discussions with a customer or prospect, put the focus on the customer, his problems and his challenges addressing those problems. You can do this in a way that the customer benefits from the discussion and continues to answer your questions.

Classic sales questions
Try getting your customer to think by tapping into his or her reality with questions such as, "What is your lie-awake-at- 3 a.m.-and-stare-at-the-ceiling-problem?" I've seen prospects and customers laugh nervously before asking me how I knew they hadn't slept the night before. Then they share their biggest challenge and give me an opportunity to listen and learn.

Another way to get at your prospect’s single toughest problem is to ask, "If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about your business, what would it be?" If your prospect is open and honest, you can learn what tops the wish list. Since we know buying decisions are purely emotional with logic simply supporting the dominant emotion, the answer to this question can steer you in a strong direction toward the sale.

Note that the previous two examples of questions are very general in nature and can lead in virtually any direction.  Prepare your questions in such a way that you’re confident the answers will move toward the solutions you can provide.

For example, if you’re speaking with a sales manager and you ask either of these questions, the answer is likely to address more sales, more productive salespeople or the difficulty in finding the right people to sell his company’s products and services. If you offer solutions to these and related issues, you’ve directed the conversation toward your strengths. If you ask too many questions that lead you away from what you offer, it weakens your opportunity. Neil Rackham in his SPIN Selling Fieldbook, calls these high-risk questions and warns against their use.

Preparation wins in the end
What do you do before you begin a project at home? You gather your tools. Similarly, the thing to do before meeting with a prospect or customer is formulate your questions. You save time on a home project when you can continue the work uninterrupted rather than stopping periodically to search for another tool. In sales, fumbling through your questions can be costly. Your prospect can clearly see your lack of preparation. You’re only fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

You can do a great job of framing your questions in advance simply by doing your homework. Does your prospect have an Web site? If so, you can learn many of the basics about the company, its products and services, history, management team and what’s new by visiting that site.

Preparing in advance of the sales conversation (or the initial interview as I prefer to call it), can make a tremendous difference. You can make a great first impression simply by knowing the basic information your prospect rattles off repeatedly to others who didn’t make the effort. Considering that there’s only so much time your prospect can spend with you, do you prefer to discuss general information or issues critical to that prospect? You earn the opportunity by doing the research ahead of time.

Tips for better questioning
How can you make sure you have your questioning tools with you when you go to work with a new prospect or current customer? Follow these tips:

Prepare for the call – The majority of salespeople simply go see their prospects and shoot from the hip, hoping for something good to happen. Top professionals do their homework, know their objective for the call and prepare their questions accordingly.

Write some questions in advance – This is as simple as creating a list of questions that ask everything you need to know to sell your prospect. Once you’ve prepared the list, visit the prospect’s Web site to see how many answers you can find without taking your prospect’s time. As you find these answers, cross those questions off your list and add new questions. Now, take the remaining questions as your tools for the interview.

Take your written questions with you – I like to write notes when I’m speaking with a prospect in order to capture key words, phrases and issues. Having your questions on the same tablet you use to take notes is an effective way to be ready with a question when your prospect answers the previous question.

Listen closely – There’s nothing worse than a prospect who has to repeat an answer because the sales professional was off in never-never land. Know that you have your prospect’s undivided attention only when he or she is speaking to you, because that prospect will watch closely to see if you are truly listening and receiving the message.

Ask follow up questions – You can showcase your listening skills by asking a question based on your prospect’s answer. You can also get better information, because the question can dig more deeply into the prospect’s need or dissatisfaction.

Check your progress – This is particularly valuable when you present a solution to the prospect's problem. Take a breath now and then and ask, "Are you with me so far?" or, "Do you have any questions at this point?" Checking your progress helps ensure that you're still on the same page with your prospect and that you haven’t lost him or her in a maze of product or service information.

Ask for referrals and personal introductions – "Who do you know in a local manufacturing business who could benefit from the process we’ve helped you create here?" Ask these referral questions as specifically as possible to help your customer guide you to your next prospect. Try to phrase this question assuming that everyone knows someone. A yes/no answer to a request for referrals, such as "Do you know anyone who . . ." simply gives you a 50/50 chance that your customer will say no.

Improving your selling game starts with asking better questions. You’ll uncover more opportunities, make better impressions and increase your chances of making the sale just by taking your most valuable tools to work with you.

John Carroll is President/CEO of Unlimited Performance, a Mt. Pleasant, S.C., firm focused on organizational and individual performance improvement. Contact him at 1-800-672-4277 toll-free, email at jcarroll@uperform.com, fax at (843) 881-6746 or visit him on the Web at: www.uperform.com

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