Questions serve three functions in a sales conversation. First, they elicit more information about the prospect, thereby allowing you to learn more about how (and if) you can help. Second, they move the conversation forward, so that you can continue to ask more questions, and learn even more. Third, they help build rapport with the prospect so that you can more easily move the entire sale forward.
With that in mind, the absolute worst kind of questions to ask are those that have a one word answer. Example:
Sales Rep: What CRM vendor are you currently using?
Prospect: Oracle.
While the above question does elicit information, it does not move the conversation forward. Making the question open-ended does both. Example:
Sales Rep: What was your decision-making process when you selected a CRM vendor?
Prospect: We put together a cross-functional team which looked at different vendors. We decided that Oracle would be the best choice for us.
Sales Rep: What were the most important criteria for the decision-making?
While the above question both elicits information and keeps the conversation moving forward, it would be even more effective if it also helped build rapport with the prospect. The easiest way to do this is to assume that the prospect has something uniquely interesting to say. Example:
Sales Rep: The economy is tough but I’ve read that your company plans to use sales technology to help weather the tough times. How did your team come up with that plan?
Prospect: Well, we’ve been through some similar situations in the past and, when we got early warning that sales might drop…
In the above question, the prospect has essentially been given the permission to brag about his firm and his participation in helping his firm be successful. Since people like talking about themselves and their achievements, the prospect will probably warm to the subject, and the entire conversation will be more productive. And that, in turn, will make the sales cycle faster.
The above is adapted from a conversation I had a couple of years ago with the legendary Dr. Earl Taylor, a thirty year employee and master trainer at Dale Carnegie & Associates. I’ve found that it helps to practice this kind of questioning with a friend or colleague before trying it in real life.
