8/5/2024-“I GOTTA ask ya this question…”

If selling is about listening, where does that put questions? Questions are the backbone of good selling, and a few solid best practices are not hard to master.

"What do you like most about my offering?" (Hey, yeah…that’s a good, solid qualifying question.)

"If you could change anything about my proposal, what would it be?" (Another goodie!)

Summoning the confidence to ask questions in your pitch meetings begins with preparing them before each interaction. You never want to leave a meeting and blast yourself, "DOH…I FORGOT TO ASK ABOUT X."

It may be a while before you meet with that customer again, so maximize your meeting time by preparing your questions upfront.

Before your meetings today, prepare three or four questions that must be asked in each meeting.

Think like a detective: "What information and insight do I need that can crack this thing wide open?"

The questions that give you the most valuable insights do not arise organically during the meeting. Your best questions are those you create when preparing for your pitch meetings.

After you prepare today’s meeting questions, write this at the bottom of your notebook or agenda…

"Ask…pause…listen." (And then do it in the meetings.)

There’s no extraordinary skill needed to be a strong question-asker: combine your preparation skills with a strong dose of assertiveness and you’ll get what you need.

If you’re prepared with three or four, open-ended and strategic questions ahead of your meeting, you’ll be surprised at how assertive and direct you will become in your meetings.

Preparing your questions while you’re quiet and unrushed helps you think strategically about the holistic state of your progress on the account… and with that specific buyer.

What are the info gaps about the account you need to fill?

What type of personal commitment do you need from that buyer? ("Hey, can you introduce me to Bob?")

And what about obstacles or objections: "In your eyes, what might derail this deal?"

If you write your questions in your notebook before the meeting, the chances of you asking them goes up exponentially!

Questions are dynamic and powerful tools in the hands of the right sales surgeons who know how to use them.

Lt. Frank Drebin from the movie Police Squad is not a surgeon. For him, questions are a blunt instrument.

The next time you feel yourself mimicking Drebin and slipping into interrogator mode, ease up on the gas and realize you’re conversing with a smart buyer.