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by Mark Hunter
Contrary to popular belief, to be a successful salesperson with off-the-charts sales motivation, it doesn’t matter how much you know about your product or service. It also doesn’t matter how much of an industry expert you are. It doesn’t even matter how great your mother thinks you are.
When you listen, you will be able to sell more. Your sales motivation will go up. Your paycheck will go up. Your ability to help your customer will go up.
On numerous occasions, everyone in sales has heard how important it is to get the customer talking. So it’s imperative to have an arsenal of great questions to ask. Despite trying to follow this guideline, every salesperson seems to overstate the amount of time they believe they allow the customer to talk.
The many interviews I’ve conducted over the years with customers and salespeople alike confirm this reality. Therefore, salespeople need to take a step back and consider their sales presentation.
To talk less means you have to ask questions that truly engage the customer. However, this doesn’t mean you need to develop complex questions. Instead, the best tactic is to ask shorter ones. Long questions tend to result in short answers, while short questions will generally result in long answers. An example of a great short question is, “Why?” In my opinion, there isn’t a better follow-up question you can ask after the customer has shared with you some information.
Consider how your customers would respond to other short examples like, “Can you elaborate on that?” and “Could you explain more?” These shorter questions elicit detailed responses and that’s just what you want.
On the other hand, asking complex questions often tends to perplex customers. They are not sure what you are looking for, and they respond with the universal answer representing total confusion — “What?” Questions should not be your means of showing your customers that you are an expert.
Save that for your statements.
When preparing your sales presentation, a guideline I subscribe to is to limit yourself from talking for more than 20 seconds at a time without asking a question. The question you ask should be one directed at the comments you just made. By doing so, you’re checking with the customer to see if they understood what you just shared with them. Again, this is something many salespeople overlook. They get caught up in sharing with the customer their expertise and the features of their product or service and forget all about what the customer is thinking.
Even if your product or service requires a complex presentation, you should still follow this rule. Whether you’re selling software, high-value medical equipment or technical tools, it’s essential to check your client’s understanding by asking a question every 20 seconds.
Your goal on any sales call is to talk only 20% of the time. To help ensure that this takes place, you have to plan ahead. Before you start developing your sales presentation, create your list of questions. This is contrary to the pattern of most salespeople, who often spend a substantial portion of their time developing their presentation. At the last minute, they develop their list of questions.
If you’re expecting to have a 20-minute presentation, you should have 40 questions (2 questions per minute). Even though you may not use all 40, you’ll definitely be more prepared. In addition, you’ll be able to pick and choose which ones you want to ask. If you’re following the rule of asking short questions, you’ll ensure that the customer is doing most of the talking. You’ll learn valuable information that will help you better understand the customer’s needs.
For example, if you’re selling computer back-up systems, you might ask,
Furthermore, the beauty of this type of question is that no matter what the customer’s response is, some good follow-up questions will naturally arise.
By adhering to these guidelines, you will be able to see dramatic results in the number of sales you are able to close. As simple as it sounds, the more you shut up, the more you’ll sell.
And, the easiest way to achieve this goal is by asking more, short questions — and then truly listening to the answers. So, shut up and sell, okay?
About the author
Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter, is a consultative selling expert committed to helping individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. He is also author of “High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.”