CAN YOU EVER ASK ENOUGH QUESTIONS ?

August ? Unbelievable ?

Here's the essence of my topic. In a selling situation (especially face to face) can you ever ask enough questions ? Some sales professionals seem to have a problem with asking questions. Their tendency is to focus on the "telling side" and not on the "listening side". And don't tell me this is the first time you heard such an observation. In focus groups of buyers we hear all the time that many salespeople do a poor job of listening. The direct correlation to poor listening skills is the fact that many of us have not done the pre-call planning and detailed exactly what questions we could ask to learn more about the opportunity, enhance the relationship ( buyers feel a need to let you know their reality ), create credibility, and score points by being unique.

The "GUNSLINGER" in all of us can be a deficit in the selling / buying process. Do yourself a favor and do some pre-call planning. Even write down your questions and take them with you ( it's not a sign of weakness ) !

Here's what I do with many of my clients. They have an appointment with either an existing customer or a potential customer; they call me a few days before and I play the client - we roleplay the situation over the phone. It's dynamite. It works. Each and every time they are impressed with how much better they felt going into the appointment and then how much better it went. Big difference in the results.

Phone sales and cold calling can suffer from the same lack of preparation defined above. Just because you may work off of a telemarketing script; that doesn't mean that you asked enough questions or the right questions - when you actually get to a customer.

So, what's the answer to my original question ? Sure, you could ask to many questions. The issue is not the quantity but the quality of the questions and their value to the selling process. But, let's start with the cold, hard facts - most sales professionals don't ask enough questions.

Think about it - where are you in this perspective ?Thanks for taking the time to read this week's Perspective.

Good Luck and Good Selling !

Challenge yourself to grow ! Challenge yourself to more accountable to yourself and the people who rely on you to make it happen. There isn't one of us who could not be more productive, more focused, more goal oriented, and more open to change - doing things different than what we have ever done before.

Look around for success stories - they are all over the place. Get inspired ! Kick yourself in the butt !
NOW GO SELL SOMETHING - YOUR BABY NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF SHOES !