Gretchen Gordon, founder of Braveheart Sales Performance once wrote, “The harder the questions, the easier the sale.”
So true!
Gordon also cited an Objective Management Group study indicating only 11% of salespeople ask the most important question when necessary.
So disappointing!
Gordon attributes a “loss of emotional discipline” or too much concern over being likable as root causes for shying away from asking the harder questions.
We agree with her assessment and would add that we have also observed that many, many salespeople talk too much and listen too little during sales calls.
So, maybe the two concepts are related?
What might the impact on buyers or prospects be, for example, if salespeople spent more time asking good questions and listening during sales calls?
What might those salespeople learn?
And, more importantly, how might they make prudent use of that knowledge, which, if the questions were good, would provide them with better insights into each customer’s or prospect’s needs, goals, and priorities?
Does This Really Matter? Ask Fred…
If you’re wondering about the effectiveness or importance of asking more and better questions during sales calls (and, of course, talking less), you might consider the wisdom of the late Fred Hermann, who Earl Nightingale once called “the greatest sales trainer who ever lived.”
While many people today might not be familiar with Fred, he was quite a celebrity in his day and was even a guest on the Tonight Show, where he was recognized as a world authority on sales.
We can sum up Fred’s perspective on the subject at hand by sharing his mantra: “Never tell them anything you can ask them!”
Application Ideas?
If you’d like to put this approach to a test, a good way to start is to do the following two things:
- Set a “talk/listen” ratio in advance of all sales calls. In other words, pre-determine the percentage of time you would ideally like to talk versus the percentage of time you’d like to listen during each interaction. The ratio can vary depending on each situation but do your best to let the buyer talk at least half of the time.
- Once you try this, it is likely you’ll quickly find that the best way to achieve your targeted ratio is to prepare some “go-to” open-ended questions in advance (i.e., questions that can’t be answered with a one-word or yes/no reply). Be sure to use those questions during sales calls and be sure to remain quiet after asking them so others can respond and so you can actively listen. Taking notes is a very good way to accomplish this!
WAIT!
A client recently shared another method of preparing ourselves to ask more questions and talk less during sales calls, which is to consider the following mnemonics.
Here’s how it works: before and during sales conversations, think about and remind yourself of the following two things:
- WAIT?
- WAIST?
You’re probably now wondering about what these mnemonics represent – well, here’s the answer:
WAIT = Why Am I Talking?
WAIST = Why Am I Still Talking? 😊
You might be surprised at how applying one of these simple little habits might enable you to experience better sales interactions and more easily close more sales.
You might also be pleasantly surprised at the positive impact this approach has on your customers and prospects!