One of the most common mistakes that new and old sales people make, is asking the wrong questions. With questions, what you are trying to do is draw out your potential customer's buying motives. If you have never heard the term "buying motives" than you are not allowed to play in this game and you have to go back to the START. Do not pass GO! Do not collect $200!
Typically, people will ask questions in an almost attacking manner, in an attempt to make their company look better than the competition. However, this can be a poor strategy since many people are reluctant to reveal their buying motives to sales people, or despite the need to change they may have made the buying decision in the first place and they don't want to recant their decision. In either case, you need to tread lightly when asking questions to reveal buying motives, because you can piss people off if you ask the wrong questions. Below I have listed a few of the questions you might not want to ask during a call.
Please keep in mind, many of you will not agree with me, but I don't really give a damn.
What do you do here? - Unless you're a complete moron, you should have done your research prior to an appointment and already know what type of business you are visiting. I can remember one time I was on a call with a rep and we went to a warehouse, which was filled with tires, wall to wall tires, and they were obviously shipping them because they were filling semi tractors with tires. We walked all the way through the warehouse dodging tires, looking at tires, and watching people load tires. Well the first question out of the rep's mouth was, "What do you do here?" I almost started to laugh but the warehouse manager wasn't laughing. He said, "Are you fucking serious?"
Unless you really have no clue what the business is or what it does, please don't ask this question. I can honestly say I have asked it on one occasion when I couldn't figure out what the business did, and the answer was hilarious, "We make adult sex toys."...true story.
Who Picked That Company?! - Too often reps get brainwashed into thinking their competitors products/services all suck, when in fact they are very similar. I still feel that way, but only because I have seen some of my competitors products and they actually do suck. Yet we have a tendency to ask this question and it sounds like we are saying, "Who's the idiot who made that decision? What a moron!"
However, unless you're confident your product or service is FAR SUPERIOR, then don't ask this question, because it doesn't matter. A better question is, "Who participated in the decision to pick your current supplier?" It sounds cheesy but it is much more professional than "Who's the bonehead who made that decision". Because chances are the person sitting in front of you, might be the person who actually picked that company or product.
What Do You Like About Your Current Supplier/Service/Product? - I have asked this question many, many, many times because it was what I was trained to ask. However, recently I realized that all I did by asking this question was remind them how much they liked their current product or supplier! What kind of an idiot asks the prospect to applaud their current supplier. The strategy just solidifies in the prospect's mind that they don't need to make a change.
And then to confound matters, most sales reps then try to tear down the reputation of their competitor which they just helped to cement in the customer's mind. It's a stupid strategy, and it's meant to be non threatening but works in favor of your competition and not you. Avoid asking this question at all, instead ask product or service specific questions that point out inefficiencies in the product or service.
"Several customers who use this service/product have experienced concerns with....have you had a similar experience?"
"How Are Things Going With....?" - A great deal of sales people think that sales is just talking, striking up a conversation, or chatting. They want to put their prospect at ease. As a result, I have heard this question uttered by reps on multiple occasions because they are very casual in their approach to sales. My response is, "Are you fucking serious?"
You ask, "How are things going?" to your friends or relatives or people you know; not complete strangers who don't even have a clue who you are or what you are trying to sell them. It sounds unprofessional and it is unprofessional.
Besides the fact that customers/prospects can easily discern that you are trying to find something wrong that you can "pick at" to get them to change services or buy your products. People are not stupid. They can tell when a rep is trying to "pull of a scab", and get to the wound in their product or service. If I hear a rep utter this question I simply want to slap them. Don't even go there...
"Any problems with your current supplier or product?" - This question is essentially just asking for a yes or no answer and will not draw out any meaningful response from the customer or prospect...unless they hate their current supplier/product. And even if they do hate their product, that doesn't guarantee they will give you a "yes" answer, because people are afraid to show their intentions. It gives them a disadvantage in negotiations. It's essentially like throwing your cards on the poker table and calling out, "all in". If you're smart, you just don't do it, unless the payoff is big,
and unfortunately in sales in rarely happens and the payoff is usually small.
Try a different tact in this situation, "I have heard other customers say..., or take me through what happens when you use this product." These work very well at weaning information from your customer/prospect.
Avoid these questions if possible and if not...good luck!
-M
