Most sales people know they need to ask sales questions to uncover customer needs. However, many make this part of the sales call seem more like an interrogation. It doesn’t need to be.
Building great relationships through trust, listening, and providing value can ultimately result in a more productive customer relationship. Building great relationships provides an opportunity to ask questions during the sales call.
There are three types of sales questions that can guide you to a greater understanding of your customer’s needs: Fact, Need, and Implication questions.
Fact questions
First, use Fact questions to gather information about the customer’s current situation, their organization, and business direction. You’ll also need (or should attempt) to find out their budget and time frame. Example: “What percentage of your sales training is currently delivered via virtual instructor-led training?”
But don’t ask too many Fact questions. A lot of sales people ask fact questions because they are easy to ask, yet offer very low value to the customer because they already know the answer(s). Instead, ask more Need and Implication questions.
Need questions
Next, use Need questions to identify their priorities and problems they want to solve. You want to gain an understanding of their needs and priorities. Example: “Is the lack of an online sales training curriculum a problem?”
Implication questions
Finally, use Implication questions to show how your solution can have positive implications for their business, and of equal importance, the negative implications of not solving the problem. Example: “How would it impact your overall cost of training delivery if you had an online training curriculum?”
By utilizing these types of questions during the relationship building process you’ll more likely be able to effectively steer the sales conversation towards an outcome or decision based on the economic consequences of taking action versus not taking action.
