Selling Isn't Telling: Use Proven Questioning Techniques to Effectively Close Sales

Like most sales professionals, you are probably highly knowledgeable about the capabilities of the products and services you represent. However, being a “solution expert” alone is not enough; ultimately you end up trying to push products and services without really knowing whether or not your prospects actually have a need for them. When that happens, we run the risk of giving the prospect a reason NOT to buy from us and dismiss our offering too quickly

The difference between being perceived as a solution provider or a trusted business consultant lies in how you manage the conversation about those capabilities with your prospect. This is the skill side of sales and relationship-building, and the real crux of your ability to succeed. By asking “Who cares?” or “So what?” about every feature of every product and service you represent, you begin to understand why your prospects might care about how your products and services can affect their businesses. Effective sales begin with an understanding of your prospective customer – you instead discuss what problems they perceive need solving. Once a prospect agrees that any such problem exists, it’s an invitation to ask about their view of potential solutions — and to create a need for yours.

The bottom line is, how can we expect our prospects and customers to agree on our solutions if we haven’t taken the time to gain agreement on their problems?

The most successful sales people I know also are the most curious. They are truly interested in learning about the companies and individuals they work with. They realize what many of us struggle to understand: We often demonstrate more value to our customers through the questions we ask than the answers we give. They are able to influence the conversation and demonstrate their credibility and knowledge by asking good questions.

The better you are at understanding what business issues and problems your prospects are experiencing, the better you become at uncovering needs that your products and services can address, and the better you’ll be at integrating your solution(s) into the context of your prospects’ businesses.

I like to compare good sales people to good physicians. Before a good physician prescribes a solution, whether it be a medication or treatment, they fully diagnose the condition. Similarly, good sales professionals diagnose the situation and raise conditions that may not have yet been considered by diagnosing or understanding the prospect’s current reality.

So how do you go about using questions to drive the sales process? The key is to integrate how you ask questions into your conversation while not interrogating your prospects. Quite simply, you begin by asking the right types of questions at the right time.

Learning about your prospects is not only about asking the right questions. It’s also about listening to the answers and directing the conversation. By actively listening and building on each question to clarify, you demonstrate that you are consciously competent. If you’re simply waiting to ask the next question, you’re not listening and you may miss critical information that the customer is willing to share with you that could affect your ability to make the sale.

Understanding how to ask the right questions is important, and the execution is critical. As stated previously, it is not an interrogation. It is a conversation, or series of conversations.

There are three types of questions we want to ask at every phase of the prospect qualification process:

• Open-Ended Questions
• Probing Questions
• Confirming Questions

We ask certain questions at certain times for specific reasons. It paints the landscape or context for us to describe, demonstrate and deliver our capabilities, differentiators, and business models in a way that will enable us to be successful, gain their trust and win the sale. Our proposed solution is the prescription that only will make sense to the prospect if we have properly diagnosed their issues and problems.

Open-Ended Questions

Open-Ended Questions enable you to learn the prospect’s perspective and to initiate a discussion of each area: their view of business issues, problems, solutions, value, who makes the decision, and what will you need to do to be convincing. It establishes our credibility and interest in them – because we are asking them first, before we begin positioning and explaining. Open-ended questions are our vehicle to learn what the customer thinks at any given time and the springboard for the whole conversation.

Open-Ended Questions do not have a yes, no or “right” answer. They demonstrate that you are seeking to understand your prospect’s world and perspective.

Sample Open-Ended Questions:

• “Can you explain why...?”
• “Would you tell me more about...?”
• “How would you describe the problems related to...?”

Probing Questions

Probing Questions allow you to dig deep into details. For example, if your goal is to learn more about the company’s profitability and the components that may put their profitability at risk, you would begin probing for typical barriers to profitability.

Probing Questions seek to uncover more specific conditions based on the information first gathered using Open-Ended Questions. They also establish your credibility by revealing your knowledge of the company, industry or problem and solution, and further underscore your desire to understand. Probing with purpose can help you uncover specific areas — recognized or unrecognized by your prospect — which further demonstrates your ability as a problem expert.

Sample Probing Questions:

• “Is it because...” (Business Issue and problem probe)
• “Do you find...” (Business issue and problem probe)
• “What if you could…?” (Solution probe)
• “Have you ever experienced difficulty with...?” (Problem probe)

Confirming Questions

Confirming Questions simply confirm that we understand and give the prospect an opportunity to clarify and deepen our understanding. They give the prospect the opportunity to clarify and elaborate on what they have said and what we have heard.

The art in confirming questions is to use reflective listening – confirming and playing back the actual words the customer has used and affording them the opportunity to elaborate. Don’t assume meaning. Ask for understanding.

Confirming Questions seek to play back what the prospect has told you, allowing you to verify that what you uncovered with Open-Ended and Probing Questions is correct and current. They demonstrate to prospects that you understand their paradigms, and help to verify that their perspectives have not changed as you move through the course of the sales cycle. Confirming Questions not only demonstrate that you have listened; they can also serve as trial closes and checkpoints throughout the process.

Sample Confirming Questions:

• “So, what you’re saying is...”
• “Is it correct to say that...?”
• “Did I hear that...?”

Mastering this questioning process is fundamental to developing trust and rapport with your prospects. It will enable you to move from pitching products to prescribing customer-specific solutions. The key to your success lies in your ability to listen and understand what the prospect tells you, and to effectively move the sale forward with each and every conversation.