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STOP SELLING E-ZINE - ISSUE NO.56/ NOVEMBER 2009

Dear Reader,

This evening I attended a speech in Singapore of an established US based sales training company. What striked me most was the set of assumptions on which their sales approach was based.

They rightly identified certain challenges and proposed strategies how to overcome them. For example the fact that buyers are often not very truthful towards sales people. What this approach, like so many other approaches, however misses is the fact that it's because sales people often fail to build true trust with the (potential) buyer.

And to build true trust, sales people have to stop, uhm, trying to sell but start with the mindset that maybe or maybe not there is a chance to add value to each other and I'm here to find this out - not to sell. Selling is not the activity but rather a possible (!!) consequence of that conversation we have with this prospect.

Would you like to know how to build true trust with buyers? Contact our author of this ezine, william.ho@progressu.com to find out more.

Let's keep progressing!

Charlie Lang
Executive Coach and Founder of Progress-U Ltd.
Author of The Groupness Factor

So, what is your smart question?
By William Ho

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In your daily regular routine life, how many times do you need to ask a question, or questions?  You probably have to do a few, or even more, if you are a student, a lawyer, a reporter, or a salesperson.

Why? It is because a question is a tool for generating knowledge. Let’s face it: we are not born to know everything, even a genius like Einstein. We grow up and become curious and interested and through learning and trying, we become what we are, and questioning provides the bridge between our old self and the beyond.

… and a smart question makes this purpose – to generate knowledge – effective.

Confucius (551 – 479 BC), one of the highly respected scholar in ancient China said, “Never be shamed to ASK”. 

In sales, questioning is basically our life. However, you will be surprised that there are quite a few of salespeople still out there, doing talking most of the time instead of asking.  They probably have forgotten who should be taken care of.  That’s right: it is the buyer that they should care for. And the only way they can care for the buyers properly is to understand them properly – through coaching your buyers: asking coaching-type smart questions that help understanding the buyers and help the buyers understand themselves better. It only sounds too logical, yet only a few salespeople can do it in a consistent manner: asking smartly.

So, how do you ASK a smart question?

Nobody has even defined properly what questions are considered as “smart”.  Nevertheless, there are some guidelines in general what they are.  Let’s share two of them:

Guideline Number 1: Format your Question

Well, we all know the 5Ws, and 1H: those we call open-ended questions; those question that start with WHO, WHEN, WHICH, WHAT, WHY or HOW. Unlike close-ended questions – those that may be answered with “yes,”, “no”, or sometimes “don’t know” or “maybe” – open-ended question let your counterparts to express more and often leads to a longer answer, or conversation.  The answer(s) leads the person to more information, and generate knowledge.  The information and knowledge will become important, particularly in a buy and sell situation, where usually important decisions need to be made, from both sides.

Also, the way to format the question is extremely useful.  Examples like

1. The “What If” Question, e.g. What if the budge is not an issue?
2. The “What Works” Question, e.g. What actually worked really well when you did the purchase last time?
3. The Rating Question (Scale 1-10), e.g. How satisfied are you, on a scale from 1 to 10, with the competitor’s service?
4. The Coping Question, e.g. How do you keep going without the software?
5. The Observer Question, e.g. How does your staff feel if they have the tools?
6. The Going Forward Question, e.g. What will happen next?

In sales, you want to engage in a conversation where both sides – buyers and sellers – understand each other very well. To avoid miscommunication, follow through and become an active listener becomes essential.  You also want to let each think, and think deeper and think wider.  Only digging thoroughly would allow the whole truth to reveal.  Only by revealing the whole truth would allow the justification of the decision – hopefully the right buying decision.

That is why formatting your question is so important.    

Guideline Number 2: Know your Partner’s Position

The other important matter to ask smart question is: you have to know who you are asking.  It is very smart question if you ask Barack Hussein Obama, the president of the United States how he thinks about winning the Nobel Peace Prize of 2009, but throwing the same question to the late Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq may not be considered smart.  When you ask any question, you have to have the OTHERS in mind: his/her background, status, position, etc.  The last thing you want is to be oblivious and embarrass not just the others, but also yourself.

… and the only way to know your counterpart, is to do your homework diligently.  There is no short cut, and trust becomes the winning factor in dealing with people. Asking a purchasing agent is so different than asking the end-user. Asking the CEO is so different than asking the CFO. Their concerns are different; their goals are different; and their thinking cycles are, well, different too. 

So, know who you are talking to, is so important.

A typical smart question should therefore be:

1. Clarity of Purpose: nobody will understand what you mean if you leave the other in the dark about why you’re asking.
2. Proper Framing: avoid going nowhere, or going too far.
3. Sincerity of intent: “Are you really serious?”
4. Respectfulness: who would like to give an answer to someone who looks like a jerk?

So there you go.  Becoming an artist to ask SMART questions particular in a sales situation, and you will become a SMART sales person and might become adorable.

For more information related to Progress-U's Stop Selling! programs including our negotiation program, please click here.

The Author: Mr. William Ho, Executive Coach & Trainer For more information about the author of this article, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want Content for Your Web Site or E-Zine? You may copy any of the articles written by Sebastien Henry to your web site, or distribute them in your e-zine or magazine, provided that you include the following attribution (including a link to http://www.progressu.com): With permission of William Ho, Executive Coach & Trainer of Progress-U Ltd

 

 

 

 

 

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