It can help you to get the most out of your meetings and interactions with target prospects by asking the best sales questions.  Since your time with prospects is both limited and valuable, it is important to make that time as productive as it can be.  What you do with that time could be the difference between failure and success.  Following are some tips to help get the best sales questions into your sales script.

 

Questions to Build Rapport

It is critical to build rapport with sales prospects to be successful.  There are some simple questions that can be asked to take minor steps forward in this area, as shown below.

Always keep in mind that your target prospects will usually be busy.  Showing your prospects that you are aware of this and that you respect this can create an immediate spike in the level of rapport.  The following are a few questions to assist with this:

  • Have I caught you in the middle of anything?
  • Do you have a moment?
  • Are you still good for this meeting?
  • Do you have a hard stop for this meeting?

 

Questions to Find Pain

By finding pain, you are helping to drive lead generation.  The following are some of the best sales questions to help reveal pain:

  • How do you feel about the level of service from your current provider on a scale from one to ten?
  • Do you mind if I ask why you gave that rating? What would it take to get you to a 10?
  • If you could change one thing, what would that be?
  • What is your level of interest in improving this area?

 

Questions to Qualify

It is critical to make sure that you are spending your valuable time with the right prospects, as time is limited.  Ask some very direct questions to qualify the prospect which separates the prospects from the suspects. Below are some of the that can help to qualify a prospect:

  • What is the impact if you do not change anything?
  • Is there a date when you need to make this purchase by?
  • Why does it make sense to make this purchase now?
  • Is this project budgeted?
  • What is the decision-making process?
  • Who is the ultimate decision maker?
  • What other options are you considering?
  • How do you feel about those other options?
  • How far along are you with discussions with those other options?

 

Questions to Manage the Sales Cycle

It can sometimes be more of an art than science when managing sales cycles.  Following are some key sales questions that can be answered to provide you with the information needed to be effective at managing deals through the sales cycle.

  • What do you want to do next?
  • What are the steps that we need to complete on your side before the transaction can be completed?
  • Is there a committee that will be involved in the decision-making process?
  • When do you want me to call you back?
  • Is there a date or event that is dependent on the purchase being made?

Those are some of the best sales questions to ask to improve sales results and lead generation.

SalesScripter provides web-based sales training helping sales pros to incorporate the best sales questions.