Give Me 3 Steps

Every salesperson I know wants the quick & easy, down & dirty answer for instant improvement. Well I wish I had the silver bullet for you, but what I have instead are 3 steps to better questioning:

1. What? – to instantly create an open ended question and get your prospects talking; start with the word “what” at the beginning.instead of “are you working on any projects?”
   ASK “what projects are you working on?”
   even better “what is keeping you busy these days?”
2. Word Choice – this actually has two tips inside it, consider them a  &  b
   2a. use words you utilize in every day speech when you’re talking with colleagues and friends – words you don’t trip over when saying them.
   2b. judiciously use the language your customers and prospects use.I know that sounds counter intuitive – words you use… then saying words your customers use.  Mix the two together for the perfect conversational cocktail.
3. Stop Talking – only ask one question at a time THEN be quiet! Too often I hear salespeople fire off a round of 3 or 4 questions at a time.The other person NEVER answers them all; but we get off the phone and believe we have all the info – until we debrief and kick ourselves in the behind.

More on listening in the next issue of A Chip off the Block – catch you later!