Powerful Questions Can Increase Your Promotional Products Sales

Asking the right questions can help you gain a better understanding of the customer and move the sale process forward.
June 11, 2008

By Kelley Robertson

Promotional Impressions recently published my article titled "Feeble Questions Can Kill Your Business." In the article, I stated that too many sales people get caught in the trap of asking low-quality questions instead of more powerful ones. Many promotional consultants contacted me and requested more information on what constitutes a great question. This article will address that issue.

First, the reason to ask questions is to gain a thorough understanding of each customer's situation, including needs, wants, desired results, decision-making process as well as potential concerns and roadblocks. Most salespeople understand the importance of asking questions early in the sales process; however, they often skip through this stage in order to present their product or discuss a solution. Unfortunately, they have the process backward.

Powerful questions can help you demonstrate your expertise. Powerful questions also can demonstrate that you are not an average person selling a product, service or solution. And finally, powerful questions can help you determine the best way to present your solution. So what constitutes a powerful question?

Questions to Make Your Customer Think
Powerful questions are designed to make your customer think, but many salespeople are hesitant about asking deep, thought-provoking questions because they’re afraid their prospect will find them invasive. However, the higher up in an organization you sell, the more important it is to ask these types of questions simply because executives are used to asking — and answering — tough questions. In fact, if you sell to senior-level executives, it’s essential to ask high-level questions. Here are a few examples:

• What goals are you striving to achieve this quarter?
• How do those targets compare to last year's results?
• What, if anything, is preventing you from achieving these goals?

However, DON’T start your conversation with those types of questions. You have to earn the right to ask them, especially if you do not have an established relationship. It’s much better to begin by demonstrating your expertise, industry knowledge and understanding of your prospect's business and/or company with questions like the following:

• We've noticed several trends occurring in the industry lately. The two that stand out the most are... . How are these affecting you and your business?
• When I was doing some research, I noticed on your Web site that your company is... . What progress are you making on that initiative?

These questions are powerful because they show that you have done some preliminary research or homework, which executives usually appreciate. In fact, many of them would like their own sales team to take this approach before calling on a new prospect. Questions like these also demonstrate that you know what is happening in business as well as your customer's industry.

It’s critical to note that I’m NOT suggesting that you spend 15 minutes lecturing your prospects to show them how smart you are. The goal is to be prepared and to demonstrate this preparation by asking key questions.

Questions to Move the Process Forward
Assuming you’ve captured your prospect's attention, you can move the sales process forward by asking other powerful questions that focus on an outcome. At this stage, it’s critical to understand that most people, especially business people, don’t make buying decisions based on your ability to spew out product specifications and information. Instead, they want to know what result they can expect. In other words, your prospects want to know how your solution will affect their top line (sales) or bottom line (profits).

Will they make more money? Will they gain more market share? Will they increase brand recognition? Will they be able to compete more effectively? Will they save money? Improve morale? Increase productivity? Reduce costs in a specific area(s)?

That means you need to be prepared to ask questions that focus on the future. When I talk to new prospects about sales training, I usually ask about their current conversion ratio. In other words, what percentage of sales do they close compared to the qualified leads they generate? Then I ask what ratio they would like to reach after the training. Depending on my prospect's goals and objectives, we also may talk about the size and scope of each sale and what increase they would like to experience. This information then helps me position my solution and the positive financial impact that training will have on their business. Consider these questions:

• What’s the ideal outcome you would like to see or experience?
• How does this compare with your current results?
• You mentioned that you want to improve employee morale with this initiative. Can you tell me what that looks like?
• You’ve stated that increasing market awareness is one of your primary objectives. How will you know that you have succeeded?

Lastly, other powerful questions will help you determine the priority of this decision, how the decision will be made and what potential roadblocks may prevent you from moving forward. Here are few examples:

• How does this project rank in priority compared to others you’re working on?
• Walk me through the process you follow when you consider decisions of this nature?
• Who else do you normally consult with on decisions like this?
• What potential roadblocks might prevent you from moving ahead with this?
• What concerns, if any, do you have about moving forward?

These may sound like difficult questions. But I’ve learned from experience that most people are willing to answer them if you have the courage to ask.

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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