It is critical to ask sales questions when you are out there selling. But the difference between being a good salesperson and consistently overachieving is asking the right questions.
Let’s look at one of the common sales prospecting questions that many salespeople think is good, and we will show you why this is one of the worst questions to ask.
The Sales Question We Are Referring to Is….
What keeps you up at night?
This can often be seen as a very sophisticated sales question, and it will uncover valuable information. We will explain why this is not the case.
What is Good About the Sales Question
But first, let’s look at what is good about this probing question. First, this question is a step in the right direction, as many salespeople don’t ask any or enough sales questions.
This is because many salespeople get hung up on talking primarily about their products and company as they attempt to build interest. And they often skip over focusing on the prospect and identifying if there is a need for the products or services that they sell.
This sales question accomplishes two very powerful things. First, it gets the conversation more focused on the prospect. Second, it looks for pain that the sales prospect is having or is concerned about.
What is Not Great About Sales Questions Like This
What is not great about this sales question is that it is too broad. That means the answer the prospect can come back with can be in many different areas.
If you ask that question to a business owner or executive, they could respond with an answer that pertains to HR, Operations, Finance, or IT. The problem with that is that you likely sell products or services that impact a very specific area, and their answer might not match your area of specialization and expertise.
For example, let’s say you help improve a business’s operations. The prospect answers that their HR and staffing keep them up at night. This is a not-so-optimum situation, and it is caused by asking a broad probing question.
The Impact of This Mismatch
When the prospect answers your probing question, you accomplish something good—you find out that they have pain. But this does not match what you were looking for.
This creates a less-than-optimum situation because you most likely do not have deep knowledge in the mentioned area if there is a mismatch, or at least not as much knowledge as you do in your area of expertise.
This means that you will be less likely to know what to say next or will not have as much control over the conversation as you would if you were talking about the area that you can help with. And if you continue to talk to them about the area that they responded with, you are wasting valuable time talking about something that you cannot help or impact.
Make this Small Change
If you agree with any of that, you can make one small change to eliminate all of these concerns and get to the key point. Make the question less broad and more specific about the pain you are looking for.
Here are some examples of sales questions that look for pain in a particular area:
How concerned are you about the amount of time it takes to onboard new sales hires?
How important is it for you to decrease sales staff turnover?
How confident are you that your sales resources are asking the right questions?
SalesScripter will help you develop the key sales questions that you need to ask when prospecting.
