QUESTION

Yesterday morning, I had the privilege of working with an advertising sales team (my sweet spot!) and we were discussing what would be the perfect sales question. It was a lively discussion and we developed many great questions.

During our session, it occurred to me that the best questions are always those that begin with who, what, when, where, why or how. They are the kind of questions that invite prospects to really become engaged in the process with you.

Funny thing is, simply adding one of those words to a weak question can make it stronger.

For example, asking “can you meet with me?” allows the prospect to say “no”; asking “when can you meet with me?” clearly suggests the meeting will take place and it is just a matter of when.

If you ever catch yourself asking a question that doesn’t use who, what, when, where, why or how, stop and rephrase the question using one of these powerful words, and you will elevate the level of engagement with your prospect.

Comments

[Ruvan Fernando]

In general, try not to ask a prospect close-end questions - questions that can be answered with yes and no, because it leaves them with no option to elaborate on their business and more importantly their problems.

Example:
- Do you want to be more efficient?

Everybody wants to, but their ways usually differs. Make the prospect talk about it - you might be wrong in your assumptions. Examine their business beforehand so you don't ask close end questions.

Maybe:
- I've been looking at the distribution setup, how about cutting vendor xyz from the loop?

Naturally you risk more (because you could be wrong) but unless you are WAY of, they usually give you credit for the effort, or would like to educate you.
Either way you win.