A client asks, "My sales representatives
are good at asking basic questions of
prospects, but I think they could get a lot
more information from prospects during their
conversations. When I ask them questions
about their accounts, they have less
information than I think they should. What
can I do?"
Sales representatives are generally good
conversationalists and many are adept at
asking "first round" open-ended questions like:
- "How did you hear about our company?"
- "What do you do there at Company X?"
- "Why are you interested in Product ABC?"
Prospects are used to being asked questions
like these, and most typically have a stock
answer ready. What they are not used to is
being asked a second or follow-up question.
Because the prospect's answers to those
"second round" or follow-up questions are
generally more detailed and less scripted,
many salespeople miss out on the opportunity
to gather invaluable information by not
asking them.
Some prospects are so used to being "sold to"
by sales representatives that they are
shocked to even be asked a follow-up
question. This is a good thing: it can lead
to them letting their guard down and
developing more of a relationship with the
salesperson.
A Typical Conversation
Salesperson: "Ms. Customer, how did
you hear about our company?"
Prospect: "I saw your booth at a trade
show and made a note to call your company after I
got back."
Salesperson: "That's great. Now as you
know we manufacture Product X, the market
leader in ..."
Instead of launching right into a sales
pitch, as this sales representative did,
wouldn't it be better to follow-up with a
question such as:
Salesperson: "Oh, you saw our booth.
We're
glad that you called. Was there anything in
particular that caused you to call?"
Prospect: "Yes, there was actually. We've
been having an issue with X over the last
year or so, and a colleague of mine told me
about your company. So when I saw your booth
it reminded me that I should speak with
someone there."
Another Example
Salesperson: "Mr. Customer, what do you do
there at Company X?"
Customer: "We manufacture two lines of
widgets - an economy and a high-end
model."
Salesperson: "Interesting. Our
company has worked with widget manufacturers
for over 30
years to provide ..."
A great follow-up question in this case might be:
Salesperson: "Two different versions,
that's
interesting. Have you always manufactured
two different models of your product?"
Prospect: "Well...I hardly ever get asked
that question. It's an interesting story.
My original partner in the business suggested
that we might move into another market if we
offered an upgraded version of our original
product and from there ..."
In both cases the sales representative has
gone from asking informational questions
(which are important) to building rapport
with the prospect by asking a more in-depth
second question. They are also putting the
prospect first by trying to learn as much as
they can about the prospect's business before
making
any recommendations.
Salespeople often feel that they are "one of
many" out there trying to get the prospect's
attention and business. Work with your
salespeople to assemble a list of strong
follow-up
questions and encourage them to talk about
the results during one-on-one and staff
meetings. The follow-up question is where
sales representatives can distinguish
themselves from the pack and gain customer
knowledge that may, in the end, earn them a sale.
Do your salespeople ask strong qualifying
questions? Many salespeople feel it is
impolite or pushy to ask too many questions.
Is that true of some or all of your sales
staff? Assess your sales team and find out
for sure.
Call me at (617) 484-6639 to find out
how.
