As we look back at the top ten sales questions introduced in 2009, many customers were in a state of panic, denial, or complacency. They put off decisions or beat us up to lower our prices. Heck, we were grateful just to get whatever business they gave us.
And yet we predict 2010 to be the turnaround year for great opportunities, especially for those sales professionals who can shake up the status quo and motivate customers to get out of the 2009 funk.
Over the past year, customers have exhausted just about every avenue to save money. In 2010, they now have to shift their focus on how to make money. Yet isn’t that the very reason why they’re in business? To increase revenue, to grow market share, and to secure more business at higher margins. And it’s our job to help them.
How? Challenge the status quo for those customers still stuck in the 2009 mindset. We’ll do that by asking great sales questions that gets them to think, to embrace change and to recognize you’re the solution!
So toss the top 10 sales questions we gave you in 2009. Here’s a fresh new set of the 10 sales questions to energize your sales approach and motivate your customers to grow their business:
1. Tell me, what would you like to accomplish this year compared to last year?
It’s a simple question designed to take your customer’s pulse and determine if he has a fresh perspective. Is he motivated, open-minded and receptive to change?
2. What do you envision as the goals you want to accomplish 3 years from now?
This question taps into your customer’s big-picture mindset. How is he planning ahead? Is he thinking strategically? If he isn’t, are you really talking to the key decision-maker?
3. What actions will you pursue?
Everyone talks about what they want to do, but you want to find out if he’s a doer, or just blowing smoke. What’s his timeframe, if he has one? Has he thought everything through in terms of how he’ll leverage resources, and which activities and initiatives he plans to launch?
4. What strengths do you want to capitalize on to ensure your success?
This feel-good question strokes your customer’s ego and lets him toot his own horn about what makes him and his organization successful. At the same time, this question gets him thinking about what he needs to do to capitalize on his success and reach the next level, and how you can plant the seeds to get him there.
5. Tell me about the challenges you want to avoid so you can go after these opportunities.
What are your client’s fears, anxieties, and frustrations? What business-related pain is he trying to address and/or overcome?
6. How are you going to differentiate and set yourself apart from other competitors clamoring for the same opportunities?
Key decision-makers love talking about how they’re going to outsmart and outpace the competition. This kind of question appeals to their competitive drive and lets you know whether they’re as committed as they say they are.
7. What concerns do you have if you don’t achieve your goals for this year?
This is the “implication question.” It’ll help you tap into your client’s emotions and understand his sense of urgency. What’s his true level of commitment? How motivated is he? What risks are involved if he’s not fully committed to change?
8. In what ways can we collaborate with you to make sure you achieve your goals?
This is the first time you really enter the picture. Most salespeople ask clients, “How can I help?” Those salespeople have to understand it’s not really about them — it’s about their customer! This is the question that’ll show you how the customer sees you fitting into his big picture, forming a real partnership. This is where you want to explore whether he sees you and your organization as part of the solution to help him get to where he wants to go.
9. What are some things you’d like to do less and/or more of to ensure your success?
Here, you want to know how the client wants to make his life easier, and what you and your company can do to help him. What does he want to take off his desk? What opportunities can he pass along to you to make you part of his value-added solution?
10. What will it take on my part to win that portion of the business you’re currently giving to our competition?
Great salespeople are never satisfied. They’re always hungry for more opportunities. If you have a good relationship in place, you’re asking for more of their business.
If you are willing to ask these Top 10 questions, and ask them in a way that fits with your sales approach, and personality style, there’s no reason why you can’t increase your business by 20% or more in 2010. But it starts with asking the right sales questions.
About the Author:
Paul Cherry is Managing Partner of the Philadelphia-based sales and leadership training organization Performance Based Results. Recognized as the leading authority on asking the right questions to win in business and in life, Paul is the author of the top-selling book Questions That Sell (AMACOM) and the upcoming book Questions That Lead. Paul can be reached at 302-478-4443 or e-mailed at cherry@pbresults.com
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