Feeble Questions Can Kill Your Business

Asking the right question is a skill to be learned and used. Knowing the difference between a weak question and a strong one will make or break the sale.
May 6, 2008

By Kelley Robertson

"Would you like to know the difference between these products?"
"Can I explain what makes us different from our competitors?"
"Is saving money important to you?"
"Do you want this feature?"

Do you ask these questions or variations of them?

I certainly hope not. They are feeble questions that do nothing to help you stand out from the crowd or give people a reason to buy from you. Yet, many of the salespeople I encounter still have a tendency to ask these types of questions.

Let's face it. Selling today is a heck of a lot more challenging than it used to be. Virtually every business I know faces more competition than ever before. That's why it's so critical that you ask high-quality, thought-provoking questions instead of feeble ones.

Avoid Business Killers
Feeble questions kill your business for a variety of reasons:

1. You don't get the opportunity to move the sales process forward. Feeble questions do nothing to help you determine buying motives, which means you will have more difficulty moving the sales process in the right direction.

2. You don't present yourself as a sales professional. Average sales people ask average (aka feeble) questions. If you want to be perceived as a professional, you need to change your questions.

3. You don't distinguish yourself from those selling a similar product or service. Feeble questions don't give you the information you need to adapt your sales presentation so that it reflects the issues and concerns faced by your prospect.

4. You don't give people a reason to buy from you. Feeble questions don't motivate people to make a buying decision. Even questions like, "If I could do that price, would you take it?" are seldom effective in getting people to buy from you vs. a competitor.

Uncover Buying Motives
I recently worked with a company to help its sales team become more proficient. To accomplish this, we invested the better part of a day discussing the best questions to ask, how to ask them and what to do with the information gained. Initially, the team felt as though they were adept at this aspect of the sales process, because they were usually able to uncover each person's needs. However, their questions were primarily fact-finding and closed-ended in nature, doing little to gain insight into each customer's real buying motives.

As we progressed through the day, the reps began to see the difference between great questions and feeble ones. However, an even more interesting observation came to light.

While everyone knew — at least intellectually — what questions to ask, the actual execution and application was much more difficult. Most of the group struggled to find the appropriate question and found it challenging to incorporate these questions into their routine. However, after several practice sessions, they started to become more comfortable with the new approach. Here are some examples of high-quality questions:
 
• "What goals are you striving to achieve this quarter/year?"
• "We have noticed these trends occurring in the industry… .How are they affecting your business?"
• "What are some of the biggest challenges you're faced with right now?"
• "How does this project compare in priority against the other ones you have on your plate?"

Most sales people are desperate to talk about their product or service and present a solution. In many cases, they end up saying too much, too soon. I will never dispute that it is difficult to NOT discuss a solution, especially given the feeling that if we aren't talking, we aren't selling. Yet, the most successful people in sales understand this approach costs them money. They know that presenting a solution too early will not address all of the key decision-making criteria. By only asking a few more high-quality questions, they will fully uncover the buying motives of each prospect or customer.

When I ask people in my sales training workshops why they don't ask more questions, I usually hear these answers:

• "It takes too long."
• "What if people don't give me the answer I want?"
• "I don't know what to do with the information."
• "I just want to pitch my product/service."

I grimace when I hear these responses because I know that these individuals are losing sales without realizing it. A small investment of time early in the sales process will pay great dividends later on.

Stand out from your competition by asking great questions. Questions that require your prospect or customer to think. Questions that the average sales person won't ask. Questions that demonstrate your expertise. Questions that will better help present your solution, product or service. Powerful questions, not feeble ones!

Kelley Robertson is a professional speaker and trainer on sales, negotiating, customer service, and employee motivation and the author of The Secrets of Power Selling and Stop, Ask & Listen — Proven Sales Techniques to Turn Browsers into Buyers. You can receive a free copy of his publication "100 Ways to Increase Your Sales" by subscribing to his free newsletter available at kelleyrobertson.com. For information on his programs, contact him at (905) 633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.

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