Reasons Why Questions Are Your Most Powerful Sales Tool

I believe that every prospect eventually buys because of the credibility of the salesperson. In the traditional world salespeople believe they develop credibility by ‘telling.’ They often make the common mistake of “showing up and throwing up.” It’s all about their product, their features and benefits.

When working on an enterprise account, this can be particularly hurtful to your sale. With multiple layers of decision makers and long, complex sales, it’s essential to qualify, qualify, qualify.

Professional salespeople learn and apply a secret that amateurs never learn or fully understand. The secret to successful selling (and developing credibility) is not remembering what to say, but rather remembering what to ask.

Because enterprise selling is never a one-on-one sale – the information you gather is from multiple sources. Digging in to find pain across several departments and through a hierarchy of decision makers means your questioning skills must be honed on a competitive level. Here are 5 reasons why questions are one of your best tools for closing enterprise business.

1. Questions focus on the buyer, not on your product
2. Questions uncover pain
3. Questions represent positive psychological strokes
4. Questions are more conversational, natural, and less manipulative
5. Questions give you a chance to think

Ask better questions and you will close more sales. How many times this week were you asked for a demo, a quote, or a sample? Before you gave the prospect what they asked for, did both you and the prospect have a clear understanding of what would happen next?

When you want to know the future, bring it back to the present. One way to know the future is to ask this question. “Let’s suppose that you have just seen my demo/quote/samples and you like it, what happens next?”

Here is the Sandler Rule: No Mutual Mystification.

Become a “Sales Clairvoyant”

Know why you are doing something before you do it and both you and your prospect agree on what happens next. Master this technique and your income will increase. You may even save some time with people who are never going to buy.