Greetings!
Happy Tuesday! What a typical (Michigan) week it has been since last Tuesday. Warm, sunny days. Cool, rainy nights. Even some straight-line winds that leveled barns and snapped strong trees in half.
In a way, the variety in weather we've had lately is similar to the variety we have as business owners, consultants and sales reps. You never know from one day to the next what our business and our customers have in store for us.
Thankfully there are tools available that can help us work with that uncertainty rather than have it blow our barn doors off. One very effective tool is the open ended question. This week we'll look at how they can help us weather these storms.
|
More Questions = More Sales
Open Ended Questions That Sell
|
 One of the best ways to help more people while
increasing your sales and closing rate is to ask more open ended questions.
Conversely, the quickest way to end a conversation and get asked for a brochure
is to ask a few questions that can be answered with just a couple words. Or
worse yet, ask questions that can simply be answered with a yes or no.
The great thing about open ended questions
is the insight you gain from you prospects. It is this insight that you will
use to develop your sales plan to help your prospect with your product or
service. Open ended questions help your prospects paint a picture of their
needs, dilemmas, expectations and motivations.
Look at two ways you can ask one question.
The first is a closed question and looks like this, "Are you happy with your
widgets?" The second open ended version of this question looks much
differently, "Describe how using widgets help you increase profits." It may not
be in the form of a question, yet it elicits a response 1000 times more useful
than Yes or No.
There is a very cool thing about using open
ended questions.
Click here for powerful examples of open ended questions...
|
2 Free Business After
Hours Tickets
|
SEPTEMBER SPECIAL
Sign up for a booth at the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo and receive two additional free tickets to the After Hours event immediately following the event. Registration must be made by September 30, 2009. Click here for Expo and booth information.
|
Offer Expires: September 30, 2009 No Cash Value Coupon Code: EXPO
|
Come Visit My Booth!
2009 Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo
|
Next Wednesday, October 7th, 2009, I will be at the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, MI. I will be at Booth #C2A. Come see me and mention you read the e-newsletter and receive up to $200 off any new training event or website design. (Not valid with pre-existing events or website contracts.)
|
Referring back to this week's featured article...
|
"What is the best open ended question you use with your customers and prospects?"
Click here to e-mail me your best question
(Your answer will remain anonymous)
Last week's question and results...
"What is you preferred method for your initial follow-up contact?"
o A hand-written note -- 25%
o An e-mailed note -- 50%
o A personal phone call -- 25%
o A follow-up information packet -- 0%
Do you have a question you'd like to see in a future poll? If so, send it to me in an e-mail. workinghard@helpingusellu.com
|
|
Wrapping Up
Well, I hope you picked up a few good ideas today and I look forward to being with you again next week. In the meantime, if you have a burning question, shoot me an e-mail and I'll shoot you a reply.
Helping You Sell You,
Scott Gillespie
|
Copyright (C) 2009 Selling U, LLC - All rights reserved.
Would you like to reproduce this document?
Please call us at 989.546.7355 for written permission by Scott Gillespie before doing so.
However, go ahead and forward this to as many people as you want!
Selling U, LLC ~ 9825 E. Broomfield Rd. ~ Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
|
|
|
|
