Presenting Smart: The Trouble With Questions
August 05, 2008
By John Windsor
We've been taught since Selling 101—and its equivalent, Dating 101—to ask questions. In the case of selling, it makes sense. The more we know about our prospect's situation, the better we can a) decide if they're a hot prospect, then b) understand how best to connect our offering to their needs. In the case of dating, asking questions shows you are interested in your prospect…I mean your date. (Actually, points "a" and "b" above also apply here.)
Are You Putting Words in my Mouth?
Fortunately, the sequence of questions pursued during a date is rarely as obvious and obnoxious as what often transpires during a sales conversation. But let's see what it would look like anyway…
He: So if I buy you an expensive dinner, will you go home with me?
She: Perhaps. Why?
He: Oh, just to hang out. So if you came home with me, would you have a drink?
She: Sure.
He: Okay. So, if you agree to come to dinner, then to my place to have drinks, that means, of course, that you'll [fill in the blank]. Right?
This scenario doesn't go over very well in the dating world. And, unfortunately, a similar sequence—an even worse one—is taught to salespeople every day: Ask leading questions, then use the responses to construct a conclusion that the prospect cannot easily refute.
Hopefully, no one reading this is guilty of such subterfuge. I just wanted to point out the extreme because a lot of people get close to that behavior without realizing it.
How We Go Astray
In trying to establish a prospect's fit with our offering, it's natural to want to uncover all the details about their situation that can help us make our case. What that often leads to, however, is a stream of questions that focuses only on product areas or applications.
And it's not just junior sales reps who do this. I once listened to a regional sales manager for a large financial services company grind his prospect into the ground with his questions, each one having been designed to justify the features of his offering. Afterward, he thought he'd done a good job. But judging from the pain that grew in his prospect's face with each additional question, I think "inquisition" is a much better description.
Just because you ask a question, doesn't mean it's the right question, or that it's a question you have any reason or right to ask in the first place.(Parallels to dating could be drawn to this as well, but I'll leave that to your imagination…)
If your objective is to help your prospect find the right solution to his needs, interests or goals, then you need to drop any presumption that you know what those needs are.
What You SHOULD Lead With
1. Find out what their situation is like today—without trying to shape the conversation to fit your offering. Just ask your prospect what's going on, what's working, what's not working, etc. Listen to the answers without trying to make points you’ll use later. Just have a conversation. It works wonders on building trust.
2. Ask where they'd like to be in the future. Ask "What are your big goals?" or "What would a perfect world look like?" Again, don't frame your question in any way that could be construed as setting up your offering. I realize it takes patience, but spending a few minutes establishing your prospect’s big picture is invaluable.
If you find out your offering doesn't really fit their big picture, you've saved yourself a ton of time and you can walk away having earned their respect, since they won’t be left feeling railroaded.
On the other hand, if their big picture can benefit from your offering, you're now in a much stronger position than you would've been if you’d only been asking leading questions.
John Windsor, an online columnist for Sales & Marketing Management, is President of Creating Thunder, a Boulder, Colo.-based communications training and consulting company. As author of the popular YouBlog, John offers a unique mix of innovation, communications, sales and marketing ideas. An award-winning marketer, John has held vice president positions in marketing, sales, and business development and has worked with companies like American Express, Reuters, Staples, and Knight-Ridder.
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