One of the secrets to success in sales lies in one tiny word that delivers a powerful punch: why? The art of asking questions may seem too obvious at first glance but has a profound effect in sales and life.
In the sales industry there is no lack of sales training programs and new sales techniques.
It seems every time you turn around there is a new book or program out that promises that if you just follow their easy steps, you will have great success.
The problem is that salespeople can get sidetracked by spending too much time focused on the sales process and with sharpening their sales tools, than actually taking time to learn about their customer and their customers business.
Sales is more than just a process, but I will save that for a different article.
A second cardinal sin that salespeople often make is when the salesperson does all the taking.
How can you possibly understand what your customers needs are if you never let them talk? Most people are so busy that unless you find a way to get them talking they are not going to volunteer the information you need.
There is no better way to learn about your customers business than by asking questions.
Here are some questions you can ask that you might try: 1.
What is your biggest challenge right now? 2.
What are your short term goals? 3.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction? 4.
How do you define success? 5.
What are you doing to help grow your business? 6.
What are your corporate strategies? Don't be afraid of asking seemingly stupid questions.
A side benefit of asking questions is that you get the customer talking and you inevitably find out much more information than you were originally looking for.
We as humans love to talk about things that we are passionate about.
This is no different for customers.
Most customers are passionate about their business and when asked are usually willing to open up, assuming they have the time.
Even if you know or think you know the answer the customer is going to give, ask anyway.
Don't assume anything.
You would be surprised by what you hear if you just take a chance and ask anyway.
Yes, you can and should do research on your customers before you meet with them.
The internet has made it very easy to look up info on both the customer and their competitors.
You can rest assured that if you are not doing your homework, your competition is.
However, this cannot and shouldn't replace you getting information and knowledge directly from the source.
If you are looking to strengthen the relationship with your customer, asking questions is one way to do it.
This shows your customers that you are more concerned about them and their business than you are with making a commission.
Nothing can be more of a turn off to a customer or prevent them from doing business with you faster, than when they feel you have not at least tried to get to know them and their needs.
What if you only have a few minutes with your customers? It doesn't have to take a lot of time to form a bond with your customers.
Starbucks is a great example of this.
One of the main reasons they have been successful for so long is no matter how large of a company they have become, they haven't lost sight of the importance of their Barista's connecting with their customers.
They have proven that if the Barista's can connect on a personal level with their customers, the customers will choose them over their competition, even at a higher price! If you really want to take a risk and speed up the relationship with a customer, ask this question "Tell me something you've never told somebody else?" Here are some other heart questions you can ask to help strengthen the relationships with your customers: 1.
Tell me about your children? 2.
What were your biggest challenges you had to starting this career or business? 3.
What keeps you up at night? 4.
What is your greatest accomplishment? 5.
Who are you responsible for? Believe it or not it does take practice for asking good questions to become a habit.
Don't get discouraged, if you don't get the answer you were looking for with your first question, you may need to drill down farther by asking probing questions.
The secret to your success in sales may only be a good question or two away.
Go ahead take a risk and start asking your customers more questions, what do you have to lose? "What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple.
Whether you are willing to do it is another matter.
" -- Peter Drucker