Three Tips for Asking Better Questions

Much of being a good salesperson is about asking the right questions to determine if your product is an appropriate fit for your prospect. If you can successfully match your product or service to your prospect’s business problems, then it’s more likely your prospect will make a buying decision.

Here are a few tips for asking better questions that can you can put to use immediately:

1. Try to ask “qualifying” questions (questions that start with who, what, when, where, why, how), rather than questions that will result in a simple “yes” or “no” answer. This will get your prospects talking to you about what’s really important to them, and give them an opportunity to go into more detail about their situation.

2. Practice, practice, practice. Try role playing a sales negotiation between a salesperson and prospect with co-workers. Practicing with people other than your prospects will decrease the chances of making mistakes in your sales calls, and also make you a better communicator in general. Replay these practices sessions in your mind to analyze what you did right and what you can improve.

3. While you’re talking with your client, take note of what kinds of words or language they use. You can make your prospect more comfortable in a sales meeting by using their language or “parroting” their phrasing in your questions. For example, “In other words, the computer program messed up the accuracy of the vectors?” Using these keywords and feelings in your discussions can also show the prospect you understand their problems.

Sales negotiations are driven by active listening and asking questions. For a more focused advice on the questions you should be asking your prospect, contact Sales Concepts at 440-575-7000.

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