Sales Training Classes:

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Sales Training Tips:

Sales Classes - Tell and Sell vs. Asking the Right Sales Questions

I can remember when I was told that telling is not selling, that asking questions was the right way to sell. However, I just didn't understand what that really meant. In fact, I started asking questions, and although my sales went up a little it wasn't that big of an impact. It was the start of my maturing. It wasn't until I started understanding that I could lead the prospect down a strategic path to the end result that HE wanted, and not just where I wanted him, that suddenly made my sales increase by 5-10 times, from under one person for every 10 to something in the 7-8 out of 10 range.

I had heard of super salesmen, and even experienced a few as the buyer, but now I see what makes that difference.

Sell and Tell - Telling Is NOT Selling, Not Effective Selling

Telling usually has been used to communicate something from you to the prospect in order to convince the prospect to buy, or to act a certain way. When you do that you assume that you already know what the prospect needs in his head to persuade him.

WRONG!

That's wrong both from "knowing what is needed to persuade" and wrong from being able to persuade him even if you did know what is needed to persuade. It just plain doesn't work, or at least doesn't work that well.

I can remember when I first heard that "telling is not effective selling. And that questions work better.

I think I went through several stages of understanding that principle. Although I tried asking questions, and thought I understood it. I was still asking the wrong questions.

I was asking some random questions about what was working, what he was struggling with. Random questions get random results.

Asking Strategic Questions...

Lead Them Strategically to Where They WANT To Be...

Be Their Friend Because You Helped Them Get There.

Asking questions that lead your prospect strategically to where he wants to be makes you an effective partner to have on his team. The right questions are those that help your prospect answer his own questions that are being asked, and to lead him strategically along the path that ends up exactly where he, and you, want him to be.

This Is Not About SALES QUESTIONS This Is About Helping Him Discover The Questions He Is Asking

Once you understand what are the questions your prospect asks himself, and what questions he SHOULD be asking himself you'll be prepared to lead him through asking the right questions to find the best answers. In other words, once you can actually help lead him through that maze that he's already fighting through you'll be seen as a partner, not a salesman. He'll love you for it, and recognize your true value.

Help Your Prospect Find the Answers to the Questions He Is Already Asking

If he is actively looking for a solution at this point he already has a series of questions in his head that he thinks he needs answering. These may, or may not, be the right questions for him to find the right answer. Your job is to be there to help him explore his questions; help him explore some questions he may not even be aware of yet, and, together, you will help him find the right answers. You'll be his friend, and help mate.

Some questions he may already be asking:

Whether he should do anything now,

How important it would be to act and how fast... how bad does it hurt now... should he act now or later.

What kinds of solutions would resolve his problem

Which of those solutions provide the most valuable outcome for him

Who provides those solutions

Who has the most valuable solution of all

Can he fix this myself? Or should he get outside help?

What does it cost

What can he afford

And of all of these solutions and people... which one is the best return on investment

Those are things he's likely already asking himself. If we start off to simply "provide the answers" by telling it won't be anywhere near as effective as when the prospect answers his own questions. Believe me, you are far less credible than he is in his own mind.

Help Him Discover NEW Aha Moments with your Sales Questions

He may have his own questions to answer, so help him with those, but there's many other questions that you can help him discover... and answer. As I said, this is about leading him strategically to where he wants to be, not just random questions. There is a path from where he is to where he wants to be (and you'll be at the end of that path.) We'll build that path from him to you, and then help him make his way down that path.

Some additional questions that lead down that path:

What's the difference between him dragging his feet to try to do this himself, as compared to resolving the question tomorrow by hiring someone to fix it for them?

What's it cost to do it himself as compared to hiring someone and get it resolved NOW?

Who should that be?

You'll be able to lead their thoughts from wondering what are the right answers, and who has them to him discovering them for himself.

When he's asked those questions, and found his own answers, NOTHING you say could improve on that. He'll be solidly WANTING to buy from you.

Communication conveys a message, and we usually think that TELLING is communicating. ONE way communication, telling, isn't as persuasive as when he discovers the answers himself through two way communication. You'll be asking the question and the prospect will be answering from his heart. He'll truly OWN the answers.

Sales Question Maturity

My understanding of what questions to ask when through several stages of maturity.

When I first started asking questions of my prospects, I was still asking questions to convey something from their head to mine, so that I could turn it around and tell them something more appropriate, that I thought would be a better fit for what they want and need not only for the sale, but to better convince them.

This is still not understanding what we should be focused on. It's still focused on finding what to tell them when the opportunity presents itself. This is still ineffective.

Although we sometimes must understand what they really want, and really need to persuade. That misses the point of a more mature understanding of questions used in the sales process.

When we can use questions to help the prospect to find answers to the questions he is already asking, and lead him through questions down a strategic path to the end result he really wants then he'll end up where he wanted to be (and where you wanted him).

Painting Emotional Pictures with Questions... Help him Feel and Experience the Before and After

We want to help him paint in his own head a picture of what he wants, what it'll look like and feel like when he gets there, what it feels like right now to stand where he is without a fix, then lead him to answer a series of questions about

What the current state feels like, to live it and feel it. He'll be better prepared to want to get out of that state.

But then we have to ask him if he wants out of that state and how valuable is it to him to get out of that state.

Ask, WILL he act, and what he'll do about it. Now he's prepared to fix it.

Help him define what the new state will look like for him IF he gets it exactly the way HE wants it. He'll experience it himself.

Help him feel how great that new state is.

Help him reach even beyond where his dreams were of that IDEAL state, to help him realize it can be even greater than he expected. That he can go even further.

Help him feel it, experience it. (NOTE: You may be getting the idea that FEELING and EXPERIENCING a new state is important. It is.)

Ask him how important it is to go from that painted state, to this new state.

Ask him what he's going to do to make it happen.

Help him realize that UP UNTIL KNOW he wasn't able to do it alone before, so why does he think anything would be different now if he was attempting to do this alone.

Does he need help to do this. And he will.

By asking questions to help him arrive at that. Don't tell him that, ask him so that he arrives at that conclusion.

NOTE: Questions are about helping him arrive at his own conclusion, not trying to tell him what to do in an attempt to persuade. Let him persuade himself. The whole process is much more convincing.

In this case instead of me passing information to him (telling, passing info from me to him). Instead of me asking question to get information so I can then tell him what's appropriate to convince him. (That's from him to me).

Understanding the difference between trying to pull information from within him to him and the old way. And that is not just information, but helping him feel, and experience the before, and after, and making decisions that he will act and how. You become his friend and advisor helping him DISCOVER rather than telling him what to do or feel.

He'll convince himself that he has to correct his current situation, and that you have the most valuable answer. That he can't do it alone. He needs you and he must do it NOW.

The Difference: Prospects CHASING You Instead of You Chasing Them

This will turn your sales and marketing upside down. Instead of you chasing them... they'll now be chasing you. The results will amaze you.

Source: Alan Boyer link

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