Winning Sales Questions

Winning Sales Questions 550 Powerful Questions to Engage, Motivate & Differentiate

Jill Konrath, Selling to Big Companies

Winning Sales Questions Table of Contents 1.

Questions, Questions, Questions ● A Person of Questionable Character ● Quick, But Important Tips

5

2.

The Incredible Power of Questions ● What makes some sellers so successful? ● Pitching: a common, yet destructive sales behavior ● The negative impact of short listening spans

10

3.

What Customers Really Want ● The trusted business advisor ● Customer’s desired business results ● Questions differentiate top sellers from competitors

17

4.

Never, Ever “Go for the Close” ● If only their closing skills were better ● How to get orders if you don’t close

25

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

2

Winning Sales Questions 5.

Selling Conversations, Not Sales Pitches ● Diarrhea of the mouth ● Repositioning: from pitching to discussing ● The right way to prepare for sales meetings ● Overview of an effective 1st meeting ● Lean back! Lean back! ● Final tips: guaranteed to make a difference

29

6.

Highly Effective Initial Meetings ● Open the Conversation ● Lead the Discussion ● Advance the Process

38

7. Powerful Executive Meetings ● Knowledge is power ● Questions on: Mission & vision Goals & objectives Industry/market trends Strategic initiatives Primary challenges Your customer’s customer Competitive landscape Corporate culture Organizational structure Departmental overview

44

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

3

Winning Sales Questions 8.

Turning Prospects into Buyers ● The fallacy of low-hanging fruit ● Invest time with customers who aren’t ready to buy ● Become invaluable to customers ● Understanding the current situation ● Uncovering problems and gaps ● Exploring the “Ripple Effect” ● Clarifying the value

64

9.

Winning Competitive Situations ● What’s the reason for a change? ● Determining the decision process ● Clarifying the decision criteria ● Understanding players & politics ● Finding out financial issues ● Uncovering the showstoppers

99

10. Is Anyone Listening? ● Listening tips & techniques ● Get comfortable with questions ● Final thoughts

120

About the Author

124

© 2010, Jill Konrath. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the author.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

4

Winning Sales Questions 1. Questions, Questions, Questions It’s better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.

“If I could show you a way to increase sales by 150%, could we do business today?” I hate questions like that. I feel like I’m being set up and the seller will pounce on me as soon as the trap is set. I also hate it when these same “salespeople” blab on and on about their wonderful products.

– James Thurber Do you sometimes feel like you have to act like those salespeople when you put on your sales hat on? Does the thought of doing it disgust you? If so, this book is for you. You’ll find out how to sell without self-serving spiels, manipulative techniques, strong-armed tactics or high-pressure closes. It'll also help you take your sales to a new level – a much higher level. By learning the skills in here, you’ll immediately be better than 90% of the other people out there selling in business-to-business markets. But first, a little background.

A Person of Questionable Character Asking questions is such a natural part of my life that for years I never even considered it a valuable skill. It was just what I did. Perhaps I’m naturally curious. Maybe, as some have suggested, I’m just plain nosy. But I’ve always asked lots of questions. My first real job was as a high school teacher. After several months, my principal came to observe me in action. In our debrief session, he asked how he could help me improve my teaching skills.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

5

Winning Sales Questions I 'd recently noticed that asking questions helped my teaching. Kids remembered things better and could figure out how to apply the information to their lives. “I want to learn more about asking good questions,” I told him. “We never covered that in college.” “You’re the first teacher I ever had who wantedto learn more about asking questions.” – Principal, Hudson Senior High School I was a bit surprised by the response. About a week later he came back and handed me a thick book. Opening it to page 256, he showed me a paragraph on questions and told me it was all he could find. Disappointed, I thanked him. After several years, I left teaching and moved into sales with Xerox. Our new hire sales training focused extensively on questioning skills. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. From the bottom of my being, I understood what was being taught. When I leveraged my questioning skills with my prospects, I got results! However, understanding the complexities of the business world was a different matter. The politics confused me and I struggled with the rationale behind decisions that were being made. “Why do you keep asking me all those questions?” – Xerox Sales Manager Fortunately, she answered most of my questions. But, there were times I drove her crazy with everything I wanted to know.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

6

Winning Sales Questions When I left Xerox, I sold technology. I had a lot to learn. New product launches were particularly difficult. When Marketing came to our branch with their ‘dog-and-pony’ shows, my hand was always in the air. I asked how customers currently did things, the problems they had with existing methods, how these problems impacted their business and the value they got from the new product. “Don’t ask me that question. You’re the one in sales. It’s your job to find that out.” – Marketer, Computer Company Those poor product managers dreaded presenting to groups I was in. Much as they tried to discourage me from asking questions, they couldn’t stop me. By then, I knew how important good questions were for sales success. And, I needed this information so I could develop my own sales questions to use with my prospects and customers. Good, well thought-out questions make people think. As a seller, you want customers to be thinking too. You want them to think about the true costs involved with their current processes, products or vendors. When they’re making decisions to buy, you want them to think about the total cost of ownership versus the lowest purchase price. Or, how to get the buy-in and support they need inside their company into order to get the approval to move ahead. In short, the questions trigger and direct your prospect's thinking. They give you much-needed information. And, they engage your customer in the process and in building a relationship with you. That's why mastering the art of asking questions is so important to your sales success.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

7

Winning Sales Questions Quick, But Important Tips Here are some tips on how you can get the most value from this book: 1. Make the questions yours. The samples in the book are simply guidelines. Some questions will work for you “as is.” Others will need to be rewritten to work for your industry, market, customers and buyers. 2. Do role-plays focused on asking good questions. Asking questions is a skill. It is not natural. That's why you need to practice it in safe situations. You even need to practice how you word the question too. Sometimes just a slight change in wording can turn a weak question into a powerful one. 3. Notice what works and what doesn't. After you've talked with a prospect, write down questions that worked well so you can use them again. Also, take note of questions that were confusing or seemed lame. You need to omit them from future calls. Your challenge is to figure out the best questions you can ask at each stage of your customer's decision process. 4. Develop your own Top Ten List. Experiment with the various questions till you find some that always work for you. Bring this list into your calls; refer to it in your meetings. It will keep you on track and you’ll accomplish much more. 5. Use the questions over a series of meetings. Please don’t cram all the questions you could possibly ask into one sales call. Too many questions will backfire on you. Besides, you need something to ask the next time you meet.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

8

Winning Sales Questions 6. Plan different questions for the different decision makers. There is no one-size-fits-all set of questions. Some decision makers are concerned about how things work. Others are interested in the financial aspects, decreasing costs, increasing sales or gaining a competitive edge. Select different questions for each person. 7. Ask questions in a conversational manner. You can’t develop relationships with customers if they feel you’re following a written script or filling in a survey. Focus on the people and the discussion. 8. Be curious, find the hidden gems. In my experience, the best stuff comes after the initial response. Ask 2nd and 3rd level questions by exploring people’s answers and inviting them tell you more. This is a resource book, not a one-time read. Keep it handy so you can refer to it whenever you need some ideas for upcoming sales meetings. If you really want to understand the concepts though, you’ll read it from start to finish – probably more than one time. Winning Sales Questions doesn’t have to be read in a sequential manner either. If you’re meeting a hot prospect in an hour, skip ahead to the appropriate chapter right now. That’s where you’ll find the help you need. Keep this in mind all the times. By developing your questioning skills, you will win more sales. It's that simple. It'll transform your relationships with your prospects and customers. Guaranteed. So let's get started!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

8

Winning Sales Questions 2. The Incredible Power of Questions “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.” – Chinese Proverb

163% of quota. That’s what my numbers were after only seven months in my first sales territory at Xerox. I was delighted how things were going, but not quite sure how they’d turned out so well. One day Vern, a seasoned sales professional, cornered me in a narrow hallway of our offices. He was a tall imposing man, much older than me. He had a long track record of success. His very presence intimidated me. Reaching out his arm to block my passage into our team room, he leaned close and said in his deep, gravelly voice, “OK, what are you doing to get all those orders. Tell me how you’re closing them.” My eyes grew wide with astonishment. I didn’t know how to answer. I couldn’t think of even one time when I’d asked a closing question. “Vern,” I said slowly, dreading to admit the truth, “I’m terrible at closing. I really wish I could do it better.” “C’mon,” he replied sarcastically. “Don’t try to pull one over on old Vern. You must have some great closing questions with all the orders you’re getting.” “Honest Vern, I’m really bad at it,” I answered. “In fact, I’m so bad at it that my customers have to close me. They usually end up asking what it takes to get a copier or if they can pay for it over time.”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

10

Winning Sales Questions He looked at me, disgusted. “So you’re going to keep it a secret?” “I’m telling the truth,” I replied, embarrassed. “I’m so bad at closing, that customers have to do it themselves.” He walked away, shaking his head. He barely talked to me again for the next couple years, convinced I was holding back my closing secrets. Despite great success, there were many times in my early years that I felt like a poor excuse for a sales rep. I didn’t know how to close. I had read many books on closing, but the tactics seemed so manipulative and trite. Just the thought of asking, “If I could reduce your costs by 10%, can we do business today?” made me want to throw up. I would never buy from someone who asked that. I couldn’t close. Maybe I should say I wouldn’t close. I was certain that my inadequacy would soon become evident to all and everyone would realize that my success was really a fluke. Little did I know then that what I did during those sales calls would lead to even greater success and it would continue till this day. I was good at one thing – and one thing only. I asked questions. Lots of questions. And the process of asking questions always led to orders. Lots of orders.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

11

Winning Sales Questions What Makes Some Sellers So Successful? It took another three years of selling for me to really understand why. That was when Xerox put us through SPIN™ training, based on Neil Rackham’s famous research. He found that the primary differentiator between top sellers and average ones was their ability to ask good questions. Rackham discovered that not all questions are created equal too. In his studies, some were highly correlated with sales success, while others derailed or delayed the sales process. Top sellers also used different types of questions depending on where the customer was in the decision process. Rackham also found it didn’t make one bit of difference if sellers asked open- or closed-ended questions. This finding was (and still is) totally opposite to what’s taught in most sales training. After going through SPIN™ training, I finally understood why I’d been so successful in sales. It was my questions – plain and simple. From that moment on, I dedicated myself to learning everything I could on the topic. I learned that: ● Salespeople who ask more questions are evaluated as more caring and concerned by their customers. ● When sellers ask lots of questions, customers rate them more knowledgeable about their jobs, market and products. Now ask yourself: Aren’t you more likely to buy from a caring, concerned and knowledgeable rep? Of course you are. So would everyone else.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

12

Winning Sales Questions Pitching: A Common, Yet Destructive Sales Behavior If it’s so darn obvious what people want when they’re buying, then why don’t sellers ask more questions when meeting with prospective customers? Look at these appalling statistics that are based on sales call observations: ● 80% of the time when the seller is talking, he’s telling the customer something and making statements – not asking questions. ● The less time a seller has to spend with a prospective customer, the more likely she is to spend the bulk of the time talking. ● 80% of the statements made by sellers are about their products or services – not about the customer’s interests or needs. They’re pitching, not asking questions. No wonder most people have such negative feelings about selling and salespeople. Most sellers spend nearly all their time talking, talking, and talking. And most buyers feel that sellers only care about getting the order, order, order. Buyers often feel their needs, issues and concerns are of minimal importance to the seller. Think for just a minute about your own sales calls. What percent of time do you spend talking versus asking questions? If you want to get a good feel for it, ask a colleague to bring a stopwatch out on some sales calls with you. What you learn may be surprising!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

13

Winning Sales Questions When sellers introduce new products or services, this ‘pitching’ behavior gets even worse. Rackham’s research shows sales reps spend 30% more time talking about capabilities and features than they do on normal calls. So how do customers react to this ‘pitching?” From all the sales calls I’ve observed, I usually see three typical reactions: 1. “How much does it cost?” When a seller gets this comment before needs have been uncovered and developed, the end is in sight. No matter what the price is, the customer thinks it’s too high. The seller, now on the defensive, tries to justify the value. Objections pop up – one after the other. But, in most cases it’s too late for the seller to recover. 2. “Can it do … “? Customers ask some inane or trivial question that may or may not be relevant to their needs. What they’re really trying to do is rule this product or service out quickly so they don’t have to change. Once again, the seller is on the defensive. 3. “I bet you sell a lot of those.” What the customer hasn’t said but rather implied is … “But not here.” Again the seller has dug himself a grave that’s nearly impossible to dig out from in the short term. The undeniable fact is this: Sellers talk too much and do far too little questioning. As a result, customers erect impenetrable barriers that most sellers find impossible to overcome.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

14

Winning Sales Questions The opportunity to make a sale is lost before it has really even begun. The worse thing is — the sellers created their own obstacles. That’s right. By jabbering on and on about their product or service, they actually create insurmountable objections. The best way to handle sales objections is to not create them in the first place. And the only way to do that is by staying customer-focused and asking questions.

The Negative Impact of Short Listening Spans All right. Just one more statistic to throw at you. This is a big one. I had lots of trouble with it too. Did you know that when sellers ask good, provocative questions (ones that require customers to provide thoughtful or in-depth answers), it generally takes customers between 8 -10 seconds to formulate a response. That’s right. 8-10 seconds to think about their perspective, the implications, other’s views, politics, to determine what they want to share with an outsider and all those things. But … average sellers don’t wait more than 3 seconds before they start talking again. Silence drives most people who sell crazy. They can’t handle it. In just 3 seconds, they’re already making related statements, answering the question themselves, rewording it, or going off in a totally different direction. A great opportunity to learn more about their customers vanishes into thin air. Gone – forever.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

15

Winning Sales Questions Here’s an important tip: Next time you ask a question, shut up and sit quietly. Count to 10. 1 thousand … 2 thousand … slowly. I had to force myself to do that. It was painful. Downright painful. It took every ounce of energy I had to keep my big mouth closed and not rephrase the question. Yet when I managed to hang in there till 8 … 9 … or 10, amazing things happened. Customers told me incredibly important things. What they shared helped me understand them so much better. I learned a lot more about their needs. The knowledge I gained helped me to figure out how my solutions positively impacted their business. It gave me time to decide where to go next in the sales call. Nothing bad happened. Only good things. It was one of the hardest things in the world for me to do, but the payback was huge. After forcing myself to do this counting on every single sales call for a full month, I finally found myself getting comfortable with the silence. I learned how to sit comfortably, just waiting. No panic. No sense of urgency. Just a nice peaceful quiet that allowed really good things to emerge. Tomorrow when you’re in a sales meeting, try counting to ten. Yes, you’ll feel uncomfortable at first, but I assure you it’s a phase that will pass in time. The value that you gain from the silence more than offsets your personal discomfort. Start now — it’s worth it!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

16

Winning Sales Questions 3. What Customers Really Want “Inquiring Minds Want to Know” ~ National Inquirer Ad

“Why should I buy your product?” customers demand. “How is it different from your competitors?” That’s always been a tough question, but in today’s market it’s much harder to answer than ever before. Buyers have never had so many high-quality, cost-effective choices available to them. Even if your company offers something really unique, something beyond state-of-the-art, in only a few months a bunch of copycats will appear. In today’s market customers assume that most products or services meet their minimal business requirements of decent quality and decent service. So how do they decide? What criteria do they use to determine which supplier to work with? If all things appear reasonably equal, what will make them select one company over another? It’s you, the seller. It’s not the product, service or company that makes the biggest difference these days. It’s you! That’s right, you are the new primary differentiator. It’s you! On one hand, that’s really exciting because you have total control over the outcome. If you do your job exceptionally well, then you should win the business. On the other hand, if you’re not getting orders, it’s a statement that you personally are not doing what customers want. You! The responsibility is on your shoulders. Customers today are buying your skills, talents, knowledge, expertise, relationships and more. If you don’t give them what they want, they’ll buy from someone else.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

17

Winning Sales Questions The Trusted Business Advisor Customers want to work with people who consistently bring value to their organization. They want a ‘trusted business advisor’ who truly understands their: ● ● ● ●

Vision and mission Industry and marketplace Strategy and critical initiatives Customers and competitors

● Culture, values and beliefs ● Goals and objectives ● Challenges, issues and concerns

Customers want another brain focused on improving their operation, reducing costs, increasing operational efficiency, creating business opportunity, driving sales and beating the competition. Because they’re so busy with the day-to-day tasks of running the business, they have little mental energy left over to think strategically or sort through the information overload. Often it’s easier to live with the status quo. There is no doubt about it – decisions take lots of time. Think of the time needed to determine if change is indeed warranted and a worthwhile investment. Think about all the time researching alternatives and figuring out which option is best. Think of all the time spent even after a decision is made to get up and running with new products, systems, services and solutions. At no other time have customers so desperately needed extra ‘trained brains’ focused on their company. Highly knowledgeable sellers are ideal people to fill this position. Their ideas, insights and information can be invaluable to customers. What these sellers contribute to their customers helps them achieve their critical business results.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

18

Winning Sales Questions Customer’s Desired Business Results While each customer is different, most are hoping to realize similar business results. Specifically, you can expect most of your customers to want: ● Increased profits ● Predictable revenue streams

● Reduced costs ● Profitable growth

But these aren’t the only things customers want – just the grand total of many other business issues, costs, challenges and drivers that contribute to them. You can, depending on the products or services you sell, look for ways to help in areas such as these: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Driving costs out of the supply chain Increasing time-to-market Improving operational efficiency Decreasing employee turnover Increasing customer loyalty Differentiating from competitors Removing excessive waste Increasing response time to changing market conditions Eliminating bottlenecks in workflow Minimizing product defects Reducing customer complaints Increasing cross-selling conversion rates Improving market share Reducing cost of goods sold

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

19

Winning Sales Questions ● ● ● ● ● ●

Eliminating overtime and high labor costs Expanding their customer base Ensuring compliance with new governmental regulations Stimulating new business opportunities Maximizing technology infrastructure Increasing workload without adding additional staff

Top sellers consistently look for ways to help their customer’s achieve the results they want. And that’s what you need to do also if you want to be a trusted business advisor.

Questions Differentiate Top Sellers from Competitors The only way sellers can achieve trusted business advisors is … (drum roll) … by asking questions. Not by blabbing everything they know. Not by telling customers what changes need to be made. Not by talking endlessly about their new products or services. Questions are key to developing this new relationship. There’s no doubt about it. It’s only by asking well-planned, thought-provoking questions, that sellers establish themselves as trusted business advisors to their customers. With intelligent business-oriented questions, top sellers get to the heart of what’s important to their customers. They use questions to explore impediments that block their customer’s ability to achieve the desired business results. They use questions to define the gaps that exist between today’s reality and future goals. They use questions to find out exactly where and how they can help their customer be more successful and how their offering fits into the solution.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

20

Winning Sales Questions Asking insightful, customer-focused questions enables you to: ● Demonstrate your positive intentions. Questions show customers you’re concerned about what happens in their business, not just closing the deal. Unless customers feel you care, they’ll never open up and share critical information. Instead they’ll get you out of their office as fast as humanly possible. ● Increase your credibility; make you appear more competent. Frame your questions with your industry, market, customer and competitive knowledge, to significantly increase your competence quotient. Read the two questions below. Which seller do you feel is the most capable and competent? If you were a customer, which seller would you want working with your company? Terry:

Are you satisfied with your turnaround time?

Pat:

Based on my experience, reducing turnaround time is a critical issue for printers today. I would assume your situation is the same? (pause; customer smiles and nods) As you look at the flow of print jobs from when they enter your company till they’re ready to deliver to your customer, where are the primary bottlenecks in your operation?

Which seller did you choose – Terry or Pat? If you’re like most people, you picked the second one. By skillfully weaving her knowledge in, Pat asked a much more insightful, in-depth question. She ‘obviously’ knows what’s going on – or she sure sounds like it!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

21

Winning Sales Questions ● Help customers think, analyze and assess. This is highly valuable to customers. Like I said earlier, customers don’t have a lot of time to think about all the things coming at them. Their jobs are too demanding and their deadlines too short. They may not have experience in certain areas, so it’s hard for them to figure out if changes would help. Or, they have few connections outside their own organization so have a small frame of reference about what’s possible or even available. For example, say you told me that you were really frustrated and upset because you just lost a big sale. Most likely you’re thinking about where your next order is coming from and how to quickly replace the one that fell through the cracks. However if I wanted to help you understand how much was really at stake and how you could benefit from my sales training, I would ask: ● What is the impact of that lost sale on your income over the next five years? ● What’s the typical amount of add-on business you get from existing customers? How much additional income is lost because of this? ● How does your competitor’s win affect the market’s perception of your company’s products/services? ● How much extra time does it take to close another sale the size of the one you just lost? ● What was the opportunity cost (what you could have been doing with your time/resources) of that lost sale?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

22

Winning Sales Questions In reality, if you’ve invested lots of time trying to get the order and lost, it’s extremely costly. It’s much higher than just the lost commission on one order. Most sellers, sales executives or business owners don’t know how much a lost sale really costs them or their company. If they did, a lot more time, money and effort would be spent in professional development. So in working with your own customers, think about how you can use questions to help them understand their processes better. They’re in the same bind you are. They don’t have time to think about more than just what has to be done today. That’s why sellers who help their customers think are so highly valued. ● Uncover and develop needs Most customers live in a less-than-perfect world. They almost always have concerns, issues, and challenges. They have bottlenecks, frustrations, rising costs. They live with tons of aggravations and workarounds. Things can’t get done fast enough. They’ll keep the status quo alive and well until: -

Things get really bad and they’re faced with a crisis. They understand the true cost of their current ways. They figure out they can’t get where they want with their current systems, technologies or processes.

By asking questions to uncover these latent needs, you will uncover many more selling opportunities than you can imagine. You will also have much less competition than you could ever dream of. And, when the customer finally decides to change, you’ll be in the driver’s seat – not another seller.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

23

Winning Sales Questions Do you want to be a trusted business advisor for your customers? It’s a great role to be in, but it’s hard to get there. Sellers who are elevated to this status are not “rah-rah” fast-pitch artists. Trusted business advisors are conscientious, deliberate thinkers who apply their brainpower to improving their customer’s business. These people are great at asking questions; it’s one of their very best skills.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

24

Winning Sales Questions 4. Never, Ever “Go For the Close” “The important thing is to not stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein

I never did learn how to use closing techniques to get orders. I tried. Believe me, I studied and practiced them all. But I could never imagine myself doing an Alternate Choice Close with a prospective customer who was investing lots of money on something new. “Mr. Customer, would you like your new highspeed, big buck computer in pink or blue? Would you prefer we deliver it in four months or six months?" If that doesn’t sound stupid, I don’t know what does. Those trite techniques seem to assume the buyer is a buffoon who can be easily manipulated by just the right closing question. Incredible as it may seem, lots of sales trainers still teach these dated, gimmicky techniques. Don’t fall for those charlatans. Don’t let anyone talk you into “going for the close.” Don’t believe it when they say, “Getting a no means you’re one step closer to a yes.” You are not. A no is a NO!

If Only Their Closing Skills Were Better In my years as a sales consultant, I’ve been asked to “fix” many sales organizations. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard: “We need to improve our sales rep’s closing skills. They’re missing too many deals, losing too often to the competition. If they would only close better and more often, our numbers would be way up there.”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

25

Winning Sales Questions When I hear this, I swallow hard and do everything I can to maintain my composure. More than anything I’d like to jump on their desk and scream, “You idiot. Closing isn’t the problem! If your people get better at this stupid skill, your numbers will go down even more.” Instead I smile and patiently explain: Closing problems are symptoms of something that’s been missed earlier in the sales process. It’s usually caused by one of two things. The seller: 1. Didn’t invest enough time understanding the customer’s needs, issues and concerns before they started talking about their product. 2. Or, they didn’t understanding the decision-making process or assessment criteria before proposing a solution. Interestingly enough, sales management almost always agrees that this is probably true. But in a frantic desire to get orders quickly, their focus immediately goes to the ‘grand finale’ – the Close.

How To Get Orders if You Don’t Close 1. Focus on questions. They are the absolute foundation for getting customers to beg you for the order. Without good questions, you’re fighting an uphill battle all the time. Endless product pitches won’t get customers to ask, “How soon can we get one?” Forget it. It won’t happen if you don’t ask good questions.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

26

Winning Sales Questions 2. Suggest a logical next step. Purchase decisions that involve large sums of money, some degree of perceived risk and multiple decision makers aren’t made in one sales call. A seller who closes right away ends up looking like a naïve fool – like they don’t have a clue how decisions are made. There are tons of next possible steps; it all depends on what product or service you sell. Perhaps you need still need to meet additional people in the company. Maybe a demonstration is next or you need to test the customer’s application. Keep advancing the sales process one step at a time. All you have to say is: ● “The logical next step would be for your team to meet with our engineers to look at what you’re trying to accomplish.” ● “As a next step, we should schedule a presentation with your marketing staff.” ● “Why don’t I take this info and get back to you next Tuesday to go over it. By then I’ll have additional questions. Don’t try to rush the decision process. If you do, you miss the chance to build strong relationships with customers. If you give them all the information on your first call, they have no reason to talk to you anymore. You’re out! So keep working with your prospective customers. Advance the sale one step at a time. Plan your next step before you go in. Sometimes you might not get there, but you’ll move further than if you just ended the call and said, “What next?” Don’t forget to keep asking questions!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

27

Winning Sales Questions 3. Listen for that beautiful word — WE! We. It’s my favorite word in sales. As soon as a customer starts talking “we”, the sale has been made – at least to the person who said it. -

“We need to figure out how to get it into this year’s budget.” “We have to get HR in right away. Unless they’re involved early, decisions are delayed.” “We need to set up a meeting with __.”

This doesn’t mean you can lean back and take it easy now. But it does mean that one person in company is now working with you to move the decision process along. It’s a huge step. And it happens naturally. It’s a result of the time and effort you put in asking questions, learning about their business, listening to their goals and objectives, challenges and concerns. Because you ask high quality, high impact questions you’re in much better position to shape the right solution for the customers. You’ll also understand which of your strengths to maximize and which to minimize. Your questions have increased your credibility. They stimulated customers’ thinking and motivated them to take action. They showed you cared and wanted to help customers with their needs. Because you didn’t close, but offered a sequence of logical next steps, you built your relationships even further. If you keep selling with questions, you’ll never have to close again. Of course you won’t always get the order, but you’ll get far more orders than you ever expected. And customers will be asking you for the order, not the other way around. Remember: the questions count – not the close.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

28

Winning Sales Questions 5. Selling Conversations, Not Sales Pitches “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Did you know that the word “sell” has its roots in the Swedish word “selvig”, which means “to serve”? It’s funny how the meaning has changed so much over time. Now when people think of selling, they immediately think of used car salespeople who play ridiculous pricing games. Or, they think about telemarketers who call at the dinner hour with a spiel about new siding or furnace cleaning. In reality though, a person who is highly successful in business-to-business sales doesn’t behave one bit like Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman”, Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street” or any of the lurid characters in “Glengarry Ross.” Top sellers are totally customer-focused, from start to finish. They see their job as helping customers be more successful in whatever way they can. Top sellers know if they help customers achieve their goals and objectives, that sales will be a natural outcome. And, in the process of doing this, they become invaluable and indispensable to their customers. Competitors have an impossible time trying to dislodge them.

Diarrhea of the Mouth Hopefully by now you understand just how important questions are in making this happen. But knowing this on an intellectual level is a whole lot different from putting it into practice.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

29

Winning Sales Questions It’s still amazing to me to see what happens to intelligent, talented people when they have to sell. It seems like everything they know about how to relate to people and what’s important in successful relationships flies out the window. When they put on their sales hat, they become caricatures of the very worst salespeople imaginable. Gifted consultants with an incredible grasp of human dynamics start blathering like idiots. Technologists who know how to gather vast amounts of information to build customized solutions suddenly are overcome with “diarrhea of the mouth.” Even seasoned sales professionals behave like this at times. For example, the minute the customer asks about their new product, they fall off the bandwagon. Their consultative selling skills are nowhere in sight. Over and over it happens. Before going into a sales call, virtually all sellers think, “What can I say? How can I prove we’re better than their current suppliers? What do I need to do to convince them to do business with us?” Then when they sit down in front of customers, guess what happens. “Blah … blah … blah.” Customers ask a question; they answer – more “blah … blah… blah.” Customers ask another question and the cycle continues. After the sales call, if you analyzed what happened to those sellers in their one-hour meeting, you’d find that they probably talked between 45 and 50 minutes. Now that’s ugly!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

30

Winning Sales Questions When this happens, sellers totally lose control of the sales call. The discussion veers into whatever direction that customers want to take it. Often this leads to talk about features, capabilities and pricing – deadly areas to talk about until value has been established. Sellers must take off that stupid sales hat. It causes them to revert to deeply imbedded, outdated perceptions of what salespeople do. It’s this ridiculous behavior that makes selling so hard. It creates obstacles. It makes customers say, “Thanks for the info. If we ever need some, we’ll call you.” And the seller is quickly escorted out the door, never to return again.

Repositioning: From Pitching to Discussing You probably hate it when you feel you need to convince someone that your product or service is better than anything else available. I know I sure do. The good thing is, customers hate it too. Stop it! Now! Don’t be the kind of seller that disgusts you. You already know how to talk to people. You already know how to ask questions. You already have decent conversation skills. There is absolutely no reason why you can’t have a good discussion with prospective customers. It’s just that when you put on that stupid sales hat, you don’t use your innate skills. Next time you have a sales meeting, think: “How can I provide value in this meeting? How can I help this customer run their business better? How can I help her achieve her goals and objectives? How can I be of service?”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

31

Winning Sales Questions You certainly can’t find out if you’re doing all the talking. That’s why asking questions is so darn important. The Right Way to Prepare for Sales Meetings Nolan Ryan, a famous baseball player, once said, “Pitching is easy. It’s practice that’s hard.” When I first heard this, I thought how appropriate it was to the sales profession. For most sellers, it’s easier to ‘pitch’ than to invest time in rigorous preparation for upcoming sales meetings. Most sellers will also avoid role-playing unless they’re forced to do it. It’s too bad because this is their only chance to practice without a live customer in front of them. Imagine Nolan Ryan’s success if he only threw balls during games. Do you think he’d have the record he does today? Of course not. He wouldn’t have lasted one season in the big leagues. Yet few sellers prepare extensively for sales meetings or practice new skills in safe environments. Instead, they march right into the sales call and “wing it.” Their old stereotypes quickly kick in and their out-of-control “pitch” is hurled at prospective customers. In today’s competitive market, unprepared sellers aren’t going to make it. Here are several things to do to get ready for upcoming sales meetings: ● Pre-Call Research Learn as much as you can about your customer before you make the call. Check out their web site and annual report. Look at how they portray themselves. Read their most recent press releases. Learn about their distribution channels and their coverage. Try to decipher their core competencies and most pressing business initiatives.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

32

Winning Sales Questions Check on how their stock prices have fared in the past 12 months. Go beyond the scope of this particular customer. Learn more about the broader marketplace in which they participate. Is it on the rise or declining? What are the industry trends? How do these trends impact your targeted company? Find out who their customers and major competitors are too. Finally, look for any tidbits of information relevant to your particular offerings. ● Determine the Meeting Type Did you contact the customer to set up the meeting or did they call you? Are they ready to buy, investigating what’s out there, or content with the status quo — even though it may not be perfect? Did they just buy a similar product or service from another vendor? If you initiated contact, you probably have some ideas how your customer’s business could be improved. Of course, you still need to learn more. If nothing else, you still need to determine if there is a “fit” between their needs and your solutions. If a prospective customer called your company, they have something on their mind. The more you learn about what it is before your meeting, the better off it will go. Are you meeting with an executive, department head, technical evaluator, committee member or end user? Don’t forget that different people in companies have totally different needs, issues and concerns. It’s imperative to build that into your meeting plan too.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

33

Winning Sales Questions ● Write out your Top Ten Questions If your questions aren’t planned ahead of time, you’ll have greater than a 90% chance of reverting into that disgusting “pitching”’ behavior. After observing thousands of sales calls, I can virtually guarantee that’s what will happen. Less than 5% of sellers can lead an effective sales meeting without a list of questions to guide the discussion. But, because these 5% are almost always the top performers, they’re the ones who are most likely to prepare questions. Go figure! To prepare, ask yourself what you need to learn about this customer. What do you need to know to find out if you can help their business? That’s your starting point for creating questions. As much as possible, customize the questions for your particular customer. When you’re meeting with customers, set up your questions by sharing what you’ve learned in your pre-call research. “In preparation for today’s meeting, I spent several hours in a couple of your stores analyzing your product mix. Based on your customers’ demographics, what do you find are the most effective marketing strategies?”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

34

Winning Sales Questions After writing down a question, jot down several key words to remind you to ask 2nd and 3rd level follow-up questions in the key areas you’ve identified. For example, my questions for a VP of Sales might look like this: ● What are the biggest challenges facing your sales force today? a. Competition b. Differentiation c. Pricing pressure d. Turnover ● How satisfied are you with your product launch process? a. Time-to-profitability b. Channels c. Competitive inroads After this chapter, the rest of the book is full of questions for you to use in sales meetings. Read through the information at the front of the chapter first to ensure the questions are right for the type of call you’re going on. Customize them so they fit with your industry, your markets and your customers. But most of all – USE THEM! If you want a sales discussion you have to ask questions. If you want to be a valued business advisor and resource to customers, you have to ask questions. If you want to increase sales against competitors, you have to ask questions. If you want customers to beg you to do business with them, you have to ask questions.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

35

Winning Sales Questions Plan your questions before the meeting and make sure you use them. It’s the most important thing you can do. Remember – If you ask questions, you’re in control of the sales meeting. If customers ask all the questions, they’re in control. And you’ll soon be off on tangents that can negatively impact your sales efforts. Make questions your friend. They easily guide you through client meetings in a quiet, nonthreatening way. They enable you to stay on task and focused in your work. And, they help customers better understand your what you and your company can do to help them.

LEAN BACK! LEAN BACK! People always laugh when I say this. But after observing many sales calls, I discovered that when sellers lean forward they switched from a consultative mode into a pitching mode. Think about it before you laugh too hard – I bet you do too! Imagine this: You’re a web site designer meeting with a potential corporate client. The conversation is going well. Suddenly the customer says: “We’re disappointed with how poorly our site is doing in attracting new customers. Do you do any work in this area?” You smile inside. Hot prospect, you think. Instantaneously your posture changes – you sit up straighter. “Of course we do,” you reply brightly, reaching into your briefcase for a brochure. Placing it in front of the client, you lean forward and the pitch begins.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

36

Winning Sales Questions Strange as it may seem, most sellers don’t even notice when they switch into this pitching mode. It just happens in a euphoric sort of way. For years, I struggled to make sellers aware of this change in behavior because they were about to create major obstacles for themselves. Nothing worked. Finally one day I told a rep that if he leaned forward one more time I would personally shove him back into his seat – right in front of the prospect. He laughed. But at our next sales call, I was stunned at what happened. When the prospect asked about our new system, the rep grinned from ear-to-ear, ready to share everything he’d just learned. Gearing up for his product pitch, he leaned forward – then of all the sudden stopped. He glanced over at me, winked and slowly leaned back. Without missing a beat, he asked the customer, “How did you hear about it?” Amazingly this rep was able to stay in a consultative, questioning mode the entire sales call – something he’d never done before. Afterwards he told me it was the “leaning forward thing” that worked. Important: If you’re on an early sales call with a prospective client and you catch yourself leaning forward, immediately LEAN BACK. This keeps you in a consultative mode. If you don’t notice yourself doing this till you have a brochure out and you’ve started your spiel, wrap it up as quickly as possible. Then lean back and say, “I’m sorry. I get really excited about our technology (process/systems). But today I’m here to learn about your business to see if we can help you increase sales (cut cost, increase productivity).” Then immediately ask another question from your list.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

37

Winning Sales Questions 6. Highly Effective Initial Meetings Effective meetings follow a simple, proven process. Here are the steps to follow to ensure you have a productive first sales call. Please use them as guidelines, not absolutes. The timeframes given assume a one-hour meeting. And remember, good meetings focus on your prospective customers and what’s important to them – not your product, service or solution. I. Open the Conversation (5-10 minutes) Customers from big companies don’t have a lot of time for meaningless chitchat and relationship building these days. Be cordial and friendly, but business-focused at all times. A. Make the introductions Take a few minutes to learn about the decision maker's job and responsibilities. If the decision maker invites others to the meeting, make sure you to introduce yourself and learn their names. Find out what why they're attending and what interests they have relative to the business issue. B. Confirm times and agenda Before you get started, double check to see if times have changed since you set up the meeting. If your customer has to run to an urgent meeting in 30 minutes, you need to adjust your game plan or come back later. Reconfirm the purpose of the meeting also to ensure there are no misunderstandings. You might say, “As I explained earlier, we work with high tech firms to increase brand awareness and drive sales. In our time together today, I'd like to give you a little background on how we address these issues, find out what your company is doing in these areas and see if we have grounds for further discussions. How does that sound?”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

38

Winning Sales Questions Notice the professionalism and leadership in this overview. It shows that you have a clear plan for the meeting. Decision makers feel better immediately; they know their precious time won't be wasted. II. Lead the Discussion (40-45 minutes) You want to create a dialogue – not make a pitch. Lay the groundwork by sharing information of high interest to your prospects. Then invite them into a discussion by asking questions that make them think. A. Set the stage (5 minutes) Customers need more grounding about what your company does than the brief 1-sentence description given above. When you arranged the meeting, the decision maker was enticed by something you said. Now is the opportune time to give a brief overview of the business results a specific client achieved with your product, service or solution. Explain the challenge the customer faced, how you helped them, and the results they achieved. You can also share your insightful ideas or go over the important information you brought to the meeting. The previous chapter explains what to do in detail. B. Transition to questions As quickly as you can, shift the focus to the decision maker – where it belongs. To do this, simply say, “That should give you a good overview about how we help our customer solve their problems (or achieve their objectives). The most important thing is to find out if this makes sense for your company. In preparing for today's meeting, I noticed that (insert data re: company's direction, Triggering Event, other info uncovered in research). I was wondering how …"

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

39

Winning Sales Questions Unless you plan your transition, it's sometimes hard to stop talking – especially if you're goaded on by questions from the decision maker. An effective transition is part of your sales call plan. C. Focus on business issues (35-40 minutes) Prior to the meeting develop a minimum of ten insightful, powerful questions you can use to lead a business-focused discussion. Corporate decision makers are always interested in talking about their business. They wouldn't be taking time to meet with you unless they truly wanted help solving their problems or achieving their goals. Have the questions handy so you can refer to them. If you want, show the client how you’ve prepared for the meeting – they’ll be impressed. But don’t give them the list of questions or they'll just rattle off the answers. Ask your questions in a conversational manner to accomplish these things – not like a schoolteacher giving an oral test. Questions build relationships, establish rapport, demonstrate your competence and show that you care. Remember, this is a discussion – not a sales pitch. Listen to their answers. Be interested. Learn as much as you can. Take copious notes of everything that's said – not just the parts you find interesting. III. Advance the Process (5 - 10 minutes) When you focus on questions, your one-hour meeting flies by. Even if the decision maker seems oblivious to the time, it's important not to overstay your welcome. Draw attention to the clock. See if you're invited to stay longer. If not, it's time to wrap up and advance the sales process to the logical next step.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

40

Winning Sales Questions A. Summarize your understanding Since it takes multiple meetings to do business with big companies, on you first call you don't try to share everything you know, ask every question you want answered or hand out every piece of collateral in your briefcase. Instead, show your professional expertise by summarizing what you learned about their critical business issues and the value of resolving them. Corporate decision makers are also interested in learning more about how you work with customers who had similar problems, what your process was in working with them and how they benefited from working with your firm. Do not, under any circumstances get into a discussion of your product or service. This will be the hardest thing in the whole world for you to do, but it's essential. Remember, corporate buyers don't really care about your offering – only what it can do for them. They also realize that in a short one-hour meeting, you can’t possibly offer them a well-thought out solution. They don’t expect one. B. Suggest the logical next step Then, without making a big deal of it, simply recommend a good option to move the process forward. This is the logical next step you were working toward from the onset. You might say, “Usually when I work with companies on product introductions, the next step is to set up a meeting with the product manager to get a better understanding of the launch plans already in place and where gaps might exist. Can we get a meeting set up with this person in the next couple weeks?”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

41

Winning Sales Questions If you've had a good discussion, it's highly likely that your prospect will have already suggested a next step. If so, great! Get it on the calendar. If your prospect missed an important step, offer it up as another idea, "Ms. Biggie, I'll get going on your recommendation right away. Also, based on my experience, we need to talk with the IT department as well. Can we get that set up too?" Ending meetings like this advances the sales process to its next logical step. It’s honest and full of integrity. It’s just simply suggesting the next logical thing that you both need to do to determine if your offering is a good fit for their business.

Final Tips – Guaranteed to Make a Difference 1. Ask easy questions first to warm up customers and get them talking before you hit the tough stuff. Don’t jump right in with “What’s the most critical issue facing your IT department today?’ People aren’t ready to answer the tough questions till they’re more comfortable with you as a person. 2. Take notes. There’s no way you can remember everything your customers say. Even if you could, customers are skeptical of your ability. When I go out to eat, I hate it when waiters don’t write down my order. Because I have lots of special requests, I don’t trust their memory. My experience has shown me that things get easily get screwed up or forgotten – even with good notes!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

42

Winning Sales Questions 3. Be curious. If you follow interesting paths of conversation, you’ll learn lots more about your customer’s business. Sometimes these journeys are the most productive of all. 4. Leave your brochures and samples at home. If it takes more than one meeting to close the business, then you’re much better off if you go in with just a notebook and pen. This way you won’t be tempted to veer off into product-focused sidelines. Your discussion will stay centered around customers’ needs, issues, concerns and challenges.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

43

Winning Sales Questions 7. Powerful Executive Meetings “To really ask is to open the door to the whirlwind.”

If your product or service offering has a broad organizational impact, costs lots of money or involves considerable risk, it is highly likely that your sales process involves your customer’s highlevel executives.

– Anne Rice

If you’re meeting with CEOs, CIOs, CFOs or other C-level players, it is absolutely imperative for you to converse with them about things they’re interested in. And let me tell you right now – they could care less about any technical details or how you’re going to make things happen. Senior executives are looking at the “big picture”. They have a vision of the future and their thinking is focused out 3-5 years. They’re concerned about things such as shareholder value and achieving a competitive advantage. You must talk their language if you’re meeting with them. The questions in this section help you engage in peer-to-peer discussions with C-level executives. But, to really have credibility with the top execs, you can’t just throw out the first question, wait for the answer and then throw out the next one. Instead, you must have strong understanding of their company, industry, marketplace and customers. Real credibility comes when you can discuss topics they’re interested in for at least 15 – 20 minutes. That’s about all the time they’ll spend with you initially. Share an idea with them. Ask a few insightful, powerful questions. Get their input. And then, get yourself directed to the people in the organization who are in charge of the decision – with the executive’s blessing.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

44

Winning Sales Questions Knowledge is Power Knowledge is power when you’re selling to big companies. The more you know about them, the better position you’ll be in. Before you meet with any executives, do your research first. Use these questions to guide your pre-meeting research on the internet. Visit a public library and ask a research librarian to help you find out some of this information. Even after all your pre-meeting research, there will still be gaps in your knowledge. That’s why candid conversations are needed with key internal personnel. Pick out different questions to ask your various account contacts. The more you know the better. And, if you talk to a large number of people in the organization you can test what you’ve learned to verify its accuracy. You’ll learn much more about what’s happening to the company on a strategic level when you’re talking with the senior executives. Through conversations with them, the company’s direction, goals, and challenges will become clear. This kind of information is essential for developing an effective account strategy. When you have a good understanding of your targeted customer, you can align your offering with what’s important to them. You’ll have a good chance of winning their business if you can help them: ● ● ● ● ● ●

Achieve their vision, goals and objectives. Capitalize on or minimizing the impact of industry trends. Attain their organizational initiatives. Solve key challenges they’re facing. Improve customer relationships/loyalty. Leapfrog ahead of competitors.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

45

Winning Sales Questions The questions in this special chapter are perfect for use with your customer’s executives. They’re focused on what’s important to him or her. They’re high-level, big-picture questions.

“A sudden bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open.” – Sir Francis Bacon

By asking them, you’ll gather the vital information you need for implementing your account strategy and positioning your solution so that your customer wants it. Without the knowledge you gain from asking these questions, you’re operating in the blind. And, if you don’t ask them, you’ll never be able to fend off the savvy competitor who does. And, you’ll be developing relationships with top-level executives at the same time!

Mission & Vision On your website, I saw that your corporate vision is ___. Can you explain this to me in more detail? What is your vision for this organization in the next five years? How will your group be different in the next several years because of this vision? How does your corporate mission/vision affect the direction your company is pursuing and the decision it makes? Your annual report describes your mission/vision as __; can you tell me what that means?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

46

Winning Sales Questions Goals & Objectives Where do you see your company headed in the next 2-3 years? What are your five-year goals and objectives? What are your primary goals and objectives in the next 12 months? Next 3 years? In your opinion, how realistic and achievable are these goals? What are your organization’s stretch goals? How will your company be different 3-5 years from now? What do you see as your key objectives in this area? What key elements must be in place for you to achieve these goals and objectives? What do you consider to be the critical success factors for achieving these objectives? What is it going to take for your company to meet these goals? How does your company measure success? What are your key performance indicators?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

47

Winning Sales Questions What are the top priorities of your executive staff?

“A wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.”

What milestones do you use to ensure you’re tracking toward your goals/objectives?

– Claude Levi-Strauss

The three major trends I see happening in your industry are: 1)__, 2)__ and 3)__. Are any of these critical?

Industry/Market Trends What are the primary trends impacting your business today?

● If answer is “no”, ask, “What trends are impacting you most?” ● If answer is “yes”, say, “Tell me more about that.” What external influences are having the most impact on your business? (i.e., governmental regulations, value of dollar, technology, changing demographics) In the upcoming years, which trends do you feel will have the most affect on businesses like yours? Based on these industry trends, where do you see your business in the next 3 years? How is your business doing relative to the trends? Are you growing (shrinking) at or faster than the rate of growth (decline) in your market? What are your plans to take advantage of the new trends emerging in your industry?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

48

Winning Sales Questions What are the biggest threats facing your industry today? What do you anticipate they’ll be in 3 years? Based on these trends, what is it going to take for your company to be successful in the future? What is your company doing to protect itself from these threats? What legislative changes are pending? Will their impact be positive or negative for your business? How have the new government regulations impacted your organization? What impact has all the marketplace consolidation had on your company? In your industry, where is the stock market value migrating? What economic and environmental trends could affect your market in the next 5 years? What is the biggest opportunity for your industry in the next five years? In your industry, where is the most growth expected? What’s your perspective of the most exciting future market for your company? Industry? How are changes in (economy, technology, demographics, etc.) affecting companies like yours? In the past year, which events have had the most impact on your organization?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

49

Winning Sales Questions What affect has the influx of new technology had on your company?

“Beware of the man who knows the answer before he understands the question.” – Author Unknown

Strategic Initiatives What are your critical success factors? What are the 2 or 3 critical success factors (things that must happen) that your business must get right in order to succeed? ● Why are these so important? ● What gets in the way of making these things go right? What initiatives has your company undertaken to ensure your goals and objectives are met? What are your organization’s core competencies? What is the company doing to strengthen its business relative to its core competencies? What are your plans for growth? What are your company’s primary growth drivers? (i.e., customer loyalty, new product development) How will you achieve your organization’s growth goals? How is your company changing to compete in the global marketplace?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

50

Winning Sales Questions Is your organization more focused on increasing revenues or market share? What changes are you making (or have you made recently) in your go-to-market strategy? How are your distribution channels changing? What are your primary initiatives in this area? How is your organization integrating e-commerce into your overall marketing and sales plans? Are you partnering with any other organizations in any major __ (sales, manufacturing, distribution) initiatives? How is your company handling the economic recession? What are you doing to cut costs? Drive sales? What initiatives are underway to drive costs out of your supply chain? How are you integrating your global branding strategy? How would you describe your marketing philosophy? What are the primary initiatives underway in this arena? In what ways is your organization utilizing technology to create a competitive advantage? What are your plans for increasing revenue? Cutting costs? In order to differentiate your organization from its competitors, what is your company doing?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

51

Winning Sales Questions What efforts are underway to increase operational efficiency in the organization?

“Good questions outrank easy answers.”

What plans do you have in place to achieve the goals and objectives you shared with me earlier?

– Paul A. Samuelson, Economist

What initiatives are underway to address the new government regulations?

How well prepared is your company for the upcoming year?

What is your company doing to differentiate itself from the other major players in the industry? What changes is your organization making to prepare itself for the future? Are you planning to move into any new markets in the upcoming year? How does your company plan to grow? Acquisition? Mergers?

Primary Challenges What are the biggest challenges you face in growing your business? What are the most critical issues facing your organization today? What are the major challenges facing your industry? Your business? What are the primary obstacles to achieving your goals and objectives?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

52

Winning Sales Questions What gaps must be closed in order for your company to be successful? What areas of concern are confronting your industry today? From a marketing perspective, what are the biggest challenges your firm is facing today? From a business perspective, what are your top three sources of pain? How prepared is your organization to achieve its objectives in the upcoming year? In this turbulent economy, how would you describe your company’s most pressing challenges? From what I understand, the market for __ is shrinking (growing). How is this impacting your organization? What are the primary concerns that you and others in the industry are facing right now? You said your market is growing (shrinking). From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges associated with this? What kept your company from achieving the objectives you established last year? What might keep you from addressing the challenges you’ve described? From accomplishing your primary goals and objectives?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

53

Winning Sales Questions Your Customer’s Customer

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

Who are your top customers? Could you describe your “typical” customer for me?

– Eugene Ionesco, Dramatist

What things are most important to your customers today?

What are the demographics of your customer base?

How are your customers different today from what they were 3 years ago? What are your customers demanding more of/ less of today than a few years ago? How do you see your customers changing in the upcoming years? What are your customers’ critical business issues today? What do you expect them to be in a few years? What do your customers expectations from companies like yours? What are the major competitive pressures your customers facing? In the upcoming years, what is it going to take to maintain a leadership position with your customers? In what ways does your company help customers solve problems or improve business operations?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

54

Winning Sales Questions How does your company help its customers solve their critical business issues and achieve their objectives? What are the key reasons your customers buy from you? What are your biggest customers asking for today? What will it take to provide that? How do your targeted customers perceive your organization? If you asked your key customers what your primary strengths and weaknesses are, what would they say? How do you see your customer base changing or evolving in the next 3- 5 years? What other vendors (suppliers, partners) do your customers use in addition or instead of your company? Why would they choose these vendors instead of your company? If you asked your customers to compare your company with its competitors, what do they feel are your competitive strengths? Shortcomings?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

55

Winning Sales Questions Competitive Landscape

“The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions.”

Who are your major competitors today?

– John A. Simone Jr.

What types of companies are likely to be competitors in several years?

What companies do you consider as your primary competitors?

From what industry or markets do you expect new competitors to emerge? How will your business model need to change to address competitive pressures? What differentiates your company from your primary competitors? In your opinion, what is your primary competitive advantage? How do the competitors view your position in the industry? How do your competitors position themselves with your customers? What do your competitors stress as the “reason to do business with us?”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

56

Winning Sales Questions Corporate Culture

“Ask, and it shall be given you.” – Bible, Matthew 7:7

How would you characterize your company’s culture? What words best describe it? What are the defining values that drive your organization? What values have made this organization so successful? How does your company see itself? (leading edge, paternalistic, solid, innovative) How do your employees feel about working here? How would your employees describe your organization to their friends? Within your industry, how does your organization want to be perceived by your customers? Competitors? Employees? How is your company perceived in the market today? Would you describe your organization as being more marketing, sales, finance, or engineeringdriven? Explain. How responsive is your organization to change? Are you trying to change your corporate culture in any way? Could you tell me what you’re doing and why?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

57

Winning Sales Questions Is your organization typically an early adapter in the marketplace or do you generally make changes when the market demands it? What image does the company project to its customers or market? How do you communicate your vision, values and strategic goals to your employees? As we work together, is there anything I should be sensitive to regarding your culture? Has the current business climate changed the way your company does business? Can you explain? What does your company value in its employees? How has your recent __ (merger, acquisition, downsizing) impacted the corporate culture?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

58

Winning Sales Questions Organizational Structure

“Know how to ask. There is nothing more difficult for some people, nor for others, easier.” – Baltasar Gracian

Could you help me understand how your organization is structured? -

Business units Subsidiaries International Divisions Departments Markets

Can you tell me about the various divisions? Business segments? How do the various __ (business units, divisions, departments) interact? What autonomy do they have? How and what do they share? How would you describe the subsidiaries relationship with corporate? In your opinion, will this organizational structure support your goals/objectives or will changes need to be made? Explain. Have there been any recent reorganizations? Could you tell me about them – what changed and why? Are any major restructurings currently underway or planned in the near future? What is their purpose? Timing?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

59

Winning Sales Questions Are there any dotted-lined or matrixed relationships within the organization? Can you describe and draw out your organizational/departmental structure? What is the internal balance between marketing, production, finance and R&D personnel? Which group seems to lead the company’s decision-making? In the organizational structure you just described, who reports to whom? Where does your department fit in the organizational structure? Who are the key players? Who, inside or outside the company, influences your key decision-makers? Are there any external consulting groups that have high influence with your key people?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

60

Winning Sales Questions Departmental Overview

“One’s first step in wisdom is to question everything — and one’s last step is to come to terms with everything.” – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Could you give me an overview of your department? How has your department changed over the past 2-3 years? What changes do you anticipate making in the upcoming years? What are your departmental objectives for the next 12 months? 3 years? How do your departmental objectives fit in with the goals and direction of the organization? What are the top three priorities in your area this year? How is your department addressing your top priorities? What are the most pressing problems today in your department? What are the greatest challenges your department faces in achieving its objectives? What major initiatives are currently underway in your area? Can you help me understand the business issues or needs that are driving these initiatives? What are you trying to accomplish with the projects you’re working on?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

61

Winning Sales Questions Of all the things going on in your area, which are the most important? Why? What other areas in the company does your group interface with? Can you describe your relationships and interactions with these areas? Which departments of the company are your customers – areas that you supply information (product, service) to? Which areas of the company are your suppliers – they give you information, product and services? How would you describe the relationship between the departments you interact with and your group? What are the primary bottlenecks between the your department and __ (marketing, logistics, manufacturing, legal)? Are any cross-functional initiatives currently underway? Can you describe them and tell me what you’re trying to accomplish? What needs to change in order for your area to be more successful?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

62

Winning Sales Questions Summary Use these questions as guidelines for your discussions with executives. What you learn will not only be fascinating, but essential for your sales success. Please, whatever you do, do NOT talk products or services. These top-level people don’t want to hear about it. Be well versed on what’s happening in their industry and specifically to your prospective customer prior to meeting with the executive. Know as much as you can. While the amount of information you need to know when working with a big company may initially appear daunting, the good news is that you don’t have to know it all when you begin. The questions in this chapter should help you better understand what you should be looking for and learning while you’re pursuing or expanding business with large corporate clients. And – you’ll know what to talk about when you’re with the senior executives!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

63

Winning Sales Questions 8. Turning Prospects into Buyers “Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken. Everything.” – Ernest Gaines, Author

Have you ever received an RFI (Request for Information) or an RFP (Request for Proposal)? Ever had a customer call you in to give you a presentation? This happened to me several times early in my sales career. I was elated, ecstatic – it wasn’t often I had such hot prospects. These people were ready to buy! Usually I had to do tons of work to get companies to this point. Visions of effortlessly earning big commission checks floated through my mind. I created detailed proposals, thick with all sorts of product info. I prepared elaborate presentations. I made arrangements for my more technical colleagues to accompany me on the big day. Guess what happened? I almost always lost the business. It didn’t take me too long to figure out that something was wrong. My proposals, presentations and demos were fundamentally sound, so it had to be something else. But what …

The Fallacy of Low-Hanging Fruit I started asking around and got some pretty interesting responses. One top rep told me not to waste my time on ‘low hanging fruit” – in other words, companies who are ripe to buy.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

64

Winning Sales Questions I asked why. He explained that by the time a company issued RFPs or called for a “beauty contest”, the decision had generally been made. And, usually another vendor was already in tight with the decision makers helping craft an RFP that played to their strengths. “Why would they go through this charade?” I asked naively. “To make it look like they thoroughly researched the matter and selected the best possible option,” he answered. This was all new to me and it didn’t make sense. But after awhile, I started to understand what was happening. Then I focused my sales efforts on helping my customers establish ‘must have’ criteria for their solution that only my company could meet. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to work with some exceptional salespeople. Virtually every top seller I’ve talked to knows that pursuing ‘low hanging fruit’ is not the ultimate pathway to sales success. It’s not a shortcut either. You just can’t get into the sales process that late and expect to win when other vendors have established deep relationships.

Invest Time with Customers Who Aren’t Ready to Buy To win sales, you have to get in early – before customers decide to take action. This is absolutely NOT a waste of time. Rarely are customers totally satisfied with how things are going in their organization. Sure there are situations when a company isn’t a prospect. If they’ve just invested in a competitive solution, are in the midst of massive reorganizations or in severe financial turmoil — it’s not a good time to sell to them.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

65

Winning Sales Questions But like I said earlier, most people in big companies today don’t have a lot of extra time. They often live with problems for years until they explode. They don’t have time to investigate if better ways exist. That’s why they’re such good prospects. Smart sellers gladly invest time helping customers find out how they can run their business more productively or less expensively. They willing invest time looking for opportunities for their customers to increase sales and enhance customer loyalty.

Become Invaluable to Customers Because these sellers waste time and mental energy on helping customers with these things, they become invaluable. Did you hear that? INVALUABLE. If you’re invaluable, customers often buy without calling in competitors. Profit margins are higher. Decisions are made more quickly. You’re brought in on even more opportunities. Investing time on customers who aren’t ready to buy involves asking lots of questions. Not just from one person in the company, but from many. It’s about constantly poking around, learning more about their challenges and understanding what they truly mean to the company. It’s about exploring the financial, operational, human and business aspects of what’s going on in the customer’s business. Remember Vern, the seasoned Xerox sales rep who demanded that I share my secret closing techniques? If he were a little savvier, he would have asked about the questions I used to get customers to literally beg me to sell them a copier.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

66

Winning Sales Questions It’s the questions that make the difference. I stumbled on it, but only after years of improving my questioning skills. Neil Rackham’s research confirmed it.

“There are two sides to every question.” – Protagoras, (485 BC to 420 BC)

The question-based process described in this chapter turns customers who are merely frustrated with the status quo into active, eager buyers. You’ll never find a more effective way to make this happen.

Understanding the Current Situation When you first start a relationship with a customer, it’s imperative to get a good basic overview of what’s happening in their business. You need to find out what they’re doing and how they’re doing things as it relates to your offering. Start out by asking Situation Questions. They help you get your arms around the customer’s situation. When you’re new to an account, they’re perfect to ask at the beginning of your needs assessment. One thing that’s good about them is that they’re easy for customers to answer. Because of this, they warm things up for the more difficult questions that follow. Usually sellers feel pretty comfortable asking Situation Questions because they’re ‘safe.” But this often leads to overuse. I’ve been on way too many sales calls where these are the only questions that sellers ask.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

67

Winning Sales Questions That’s bad. Really bad! Customers get bored answering these questions because there’s nothing in it for them. When they get asked too many, they shut down. Customers don’t like spending time with amateurs who haven’t invested time learning about their organization.

Rules of Thumb ● Never ask questions when the answer is readily available to the public. That means you should avoid questions about the number of employees, the product line, plant locations, annual revenue, and so on. Annual reports and web sites are full of this kind of information. Check them out. In a training session I was doing a few years ago, we were sharing memorable moments in our sales career. I’ll never forget the man who told about a recent call he’d made to a senior-level executive at a large manufacturing company. Not having done his homework, he used the early part of the meeting to ask general questions about the organization. Finally, after one-too-many of these data-oriented questions, the Vice President reached over to his credenza, grabbed their annual report and threw it down in front of him. “Read this,” the VP said caustically. “When you’re done, come back and talk to me.” Needless to say, the sales rep’s credibility was shattered and he never did end up doing business with the company. Prospective customers don’t like to waste valuable time sharing information you could find yourself with a little effort. Do your research before the meetings, not during them.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

68

Winning Sales Questions ● Don’t ask all your questions in one meeting. Relationships take time to build. Ask questions that give you a broad understanding of the account, their direction, initiatives and challenges. Save the detailed information for later. Marketing departments often give salespeople detailed qualification questions to determine if an account is truly a prospect. Many of the questions they provide are really focused on implementation issues – not about uncovering and developing needs. Don’t let marketing convince you to ask these questions first. They don’t sell, they just eliminate … and often very prematurely. Use follow-up meetings with customers to explore the issues, needs and concerns you uncovered the first time you talked. This will give you time to think about their situation in more depth and to plan better questions. Another reason you don’t want to ask all your questions at once is that you need a reason to get back into the account. Customers must see you multiple times to trust your capabilities, competence and motive. So don’t rush things. Go slowly. Go deliberately. Get to know your prospective customer over time and you’ll be much further ahead. ● Combine questions, if at all possible. Over the last ten years, I’ve spent lots of time working with companies on product launches. During training sessions, the marketing and technical people generally share everything you could possibly want to know about the new product. Then I work with the sales force to help them figure out how to sell it effectively.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

69

Winning Sales Questions Developing the right questions to ask are an integral part of what I teach. During one session I conducted, a rep was talking about an account he thought would be perfect for this justreleased product. Excitedly, he shared the questions he was going to ask in an upcoming sales call. One after the other, they tumbled out in rapid succession: -

What system do you use for this application? What software do you use? How long have you had it? Who do you use for support? Where does the information go when you’re done with your job? What system is that person using? What software?

“Stop,” I finally said, putting my hands over my ears. “I feel like I’m being interrogated by the Gestapo. All you need is one question.” He gave me one of those ‘yeah-sure’ looks. “Just say, ‘Tell me how the work flows through your operation.’” I said. “When your customer answers, you’ll learn what’s going on. The rest of your questions will come out during the course of normal conversation. Better yet, ask for a tour of his plant. You’ll learn even more.”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

70

Winning Sales Questions ● Don’t ask a question if it’s not related to what you sell. I know you think this is pretty dumb, but it happens an awful lot. Here’s an example: Let’s say you’re in corporate real estate sales. You always ask about the number of employees because it’s essential for determining space requirements. Wanting to be conversational, you could also ask about your customer’s turnover rate or if it’s hard to find good people. These are problems you can’t solve. You may think it’s nice to show interest in their business, but really you’re wasting time – yours and theirs. ● Never ask “Why?” after customers answer these questions. Asking people “why” after they respond to your fact-finding questions makes them feel like you doubt their intelligence. They feel like they were really asked, “Why, stupid?” That’s what they hear, even though you didn’t say it. People get defensive. They shut up and stop talking. That’s not what you want to happen. If you really want to know ‘why’, ask something like this: “What thinking went into developing the process?” or “How did your company decide to do things this way?”

Key Words The key words found in Situation Questions are pretty easy to spot; they’re full of all those journalistic words: who, what, where, when and how. Pay attention to the key words as you plan your questions. If too many of them ask for factual data, you’ll have lots of trouble selling!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

71

Winning Sales Questions What Tell Where

When Show Explain

Demonstrate How How much/often

Sample Situation Questions Listed below are a number of Situation Questions you can ask your customers. Select those that are most relevant to your product or service. You may want to customize them so that they’re “right on”. Or, use the questions below as guidelines to develop your own. How are you currently handling __? Describe your supply chain and fulfillment process? What are you doing now in the area of __? The last time we spoke you said you had an issue with __; what have you done to solve it? Of the services you currently offer, which ones provide the biggest margins for your firm in descending order? How do you measure success working with your current vendor?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

72

Winning Sales Questions Where do your new business leads currently come from? -

Do you formally track where your leads come from? How do you know if your lead generation programs were successful?

What is your future direction in this area? What type of system is in place to do __? Can you please walk me through the process from beginning to end? How does __ move through your department? Your company? What types of devices are you using to __? Do you currently do __ in-house or do you outsource it? What have you done to address the new government requirements? When do you plan to __? What improvements have you made in this area in the last year? What improvements will be needed in the next several years to ensure growth? Can you show me how the document flows through the organization?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

73

Winning Sales Questions What’s the rationale behind the decision to do things that way? When your department finishes its work, what happens to it next? To which area in the company do you hand it off? What area/group is upstream to yours in the production process? What products are you currently using to handle your __ needs? How do you handle situations like __? How much __ is needed on a monthly basis? Where does the __ take place? Who currently handles your __? Can you describe how you do this? What equipment (vendor, process) are you using?

Situation Questions DON’T increase sales. But, they’re necessary because they ground you in what’s happening in the customer’s business. Overuse decreases your abilityto get the sale, so use them sparingly. Make broad questions from many small ones.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

74

Winning Sales Questions Uncovering Problems and Gaps “A prudent question is one half of wisdom.” – Sir Frances Bacon

Finding out about the customer’s challenges, difficulties and concerns is essential for effective selling. If customers are totally happy with how things are today, there is no reason to change. That’s why Problem/Gap Questions are important to have in your sales tool kit. You need to uncover issues, challenges, bottlenecks and dissatisfactions with their current products, processes and systems. Sometimes things are fine the way they are today, but the customer has some future objectives they want to achieve. In this case, their problem is found in the gaps – their current systems, suppliers or processes won’t enable them to get where they want to go. Look for latent problems – ones that haven’t flamed up yet and screamed for resolution. Most sellers don’t explore this area, so by pursuing these hidden problems, you get a leg up on competitors. Many sellers are uncomfortable asking Problem/Gap Questions. They feel it’s impolite to ask about difficulties the customer is facing. Or, they feel these questions are too personal and customers won’t want to share this kind of information. If you feel this way, let me tell you one thing – GET OVER IT!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

75

Winning Sales Questions You can’t help customers improve their business and you can’t achieve your own goals unless you’re willing to be uncomfortable. Selling is not about you. It’s about helping customers achieve their goals and objectives or removing obstacles to their success. It’s about solving current and future problems. Period. If you truly are a customer-focused person, you must ask Problem/Gap Questions. It might take some getting used to, but you have to do it. If you don’t, you’re letting your own discomfort hurt your existing and prospective customers.

Rules of Thumb ● Just because customers are frustrated or dissatisfied does not mean they are ready to buy. Many sellers are ecstatic when they hear customers say “We’re concerned about …” or “We have problems with...” They’re ready to jump in immediately and talk about their products or services. If this happens to you, STOP! Right away! Think for a minute about yourself. Just because your car is giving you problems doesn’t mean you’ll automatically spend $25,000 to replace it. Just because you’re frustrated with your computer doesn’t mean you want to buy a new one, much less take the time to learn how to use it. LEAN BACK. Customers aren’t ready to change until the cost of the problem outweighs the cost of the solution. Ask questions that explore the ramifications, implications and effects of the problems on their business.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

76

Winning Sales Questions ● When customers share a problem, find out “Why” it’s a problem. Yup! Now you can ask “Why?” Why is it a problem? Why do people complain? Why does it take so much extra time? Why aren’t they satisfied? If you don’t, you’re likely to leap to unfounded and erroneous conclusions. You don’t know enough about the customer’s business. Find out “why.” ● Don’t assume something is a problem. Lots of sellers know way more than their customers about what’s good or bad performance. But they may not have a clue about how their customers feel about how they’re doing. It’s critical to check out your customer’s perception. For example, say you ask your customer, “How many do you produce per hour?” and the response you get is 350. Because you work with lots of organizations, you know that 350 is absolutely terrible. All your other customers expect at least 900. Your big urge is to jump in and say, “Ooh, that’s awful.” But what if the customer is proud of 350 because just six months ago it was 125. Unless you ask about their satisfaction level, you could commit a horrible blunder. ● Unless an evaluative word is in Problem/Gap Questions, they won’t uncover customers’ problems or identify gaps. (See chart on next page.) Some sellers are uncomfortable using words like difficulty, trouble, or struggling. If that’s you, did you realize many questions can be rephrased positively and still get the same response?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

77

Winning Sales Questions Example: “What are your biggest concerns?” can become “Where would you make improvements?” Example: “What are your primary problems with the system?” can become “How satisfied is your staff with the system’s operation?”

Key Words Problem/Gap Questions that contain these key words help sellers find out areas of dissatisfaction. They search for problems: Where isn’t the customer happy? What could be changed to make life better? Where are the gaps between how customers want things versus how they actually are today? Bottlenecks Challenges Problems Changes Improvements Complaints Gaps Hassles

Difficulties Dissatisfaction Satisfaction What if Concerns Evaluate Improve

Trouble Barriers Critical Struggling Frustrations Why - but only after a problem is stated

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

78

Winning Sales Questions Sample Problem/Gap Questions Listed below are a number of Problem/Gap Questions you can ask your customers. Select those that are most relevant to your product or service. You may want to customize them so that they’re “right on”. Or, use the questions below as guidelines to develop your own. What are the biggest challenges you face today in growing your business? What are your most pressing problems today in the __ department? -

Why is it a problem? Why does it take so long? Why are your customers complaining? Why aren’t the time frames being met?

What difficulties do you experience in your ___ process? -

Why is this a problem to you?

How satisfied are you with the way things currently are running? As you analyze your current situation, where does the biggest productivity bottleneck seem to be occurring?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

79

Winning Sales Questions Typically in organizations, things get dropped in the hand-off from engineering to marketing. -

Do you experience that problem here? Can you tell me about it?

On a scale of 1-10, how would you evaluate your present supplier? Why? What are the biggest complaints you get from customers? Other departments? What problems could arise if you don’t make changes in how you do things? What are the biggest barriers to achieving your goals? Looking at your current systems (methods, processes), where are areas for improvement? Based on where you want your company to be in 2 years, what systems (technology, processes) must change because they won’t support your future direction? If you compare where you want your organization to be in 12 months to today’s situation, what gaps exist? Based on how you’re doing things today, are there areas for improvement? What challenges are created by your current way of doing things? Why? What’s currently working well? Not so well?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

80

Winning Sales Questions What would you personally like to see improved around here? Why? In what areas is additional efficiency (speed, cost reduction, turnaround time) needed? Where are the current bottlenecks in your processes? If you could improve your process, what would you change first? How satisfied are you with the existing process? What are your most pressing problems today related to staffing? What are the major barriers you’ve encountered in implementing change initiatives in the organization? In order to achieve the objectives you’ve established for this new initiative, what improvements still need to be made? What are the biggest obstacles you face in meeting your objectives? Why? From a business perspective, what are your top three sources of pain? What could be improved in the way you currently do ___? Why? Where are the biggest frustrations and hassles in how things are currently done? Why?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

81

Winning Sales Questions Are you worried about the __? Are you struggling with __? Are you satisfied with your present equipment (vendor, process)? What are the downsides of how you’re currently doing things? Isn’t if difficult to do __ with your current process? What’s causing you to have these problems?

Problem/Gap Questions are not directly correlated with sales success, but without them you can’t uncover customer’s needs. Don’t be afraid to ask these questions. To help customers improve their business, you have ask about problems and gaps.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

82

Winning Sales Questions Exploring the “Ripple Effect” “Business people ask the wrong questions all the time.” – Jack Foster, “How to Get Ideas”

When customers express dissatisfaction with the status quo, it’s imperative for you to understand all the ramifications of their situation before offering any solutions. Usually their problems and gaps have a Ripple Effect – meaning other people, procedures and departments are affected by it. And, there are often significant costs associated with the Ripple Effect – some direct, some indirect, and some opportunity. As a seller, you could easily tell your customers about the negative impact of their current processes or product. But customers wouldn’t believe you. They’ve heard one sales pitch too many in their lives and would think it was just another ploy to get their money. Customers must go through this thinking process themselves. Top sellers have the ability to guide people through the exploration of the Ripple Effect – with the skillful use of questions. That’s what Impact Questions are for and they’re highly correlated with sales success. Top sellers ask tons more than average sellers – who may not ask any. If you want customers to ask you for the order, these questions are the key to making it happen. When should you ask Impact Questions? Use them after your customer expresses dissatisfaction with how they’re doing things or when they share that their current ways can’t handle their desired future. Did you know that when customers say they’re unhappy, most sellers move right into a “pitching” mode? That’s true. They immediately shift gears and start trying to sell. And usually they’re not successful.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

83

Winning Sales Questions Customers still don’t understand all the related issues caused by the problems, frustrations, hassles or bottlenecks they’re living with. They don’t consider all the cascading effects that the ‘bothersome irritation’ is creating throughout their organization. Sometimes customers, because they’ve never thought about it, aren’t even aware that these ramifications even exist. Other times they think they just have to live with the aggravations because that’s how things are. To the best of their knowledge, no solution exists. For years I limped along with an antiquated computer. But until I upgraded, I had absolutely no idea how handicapped I was. Because I home office, I didn’t see other people using computers in ways I couldn’t. I didn’t know the productivity gains I could get from switching. I didn’t know, I didn’t know, I didn’t know. That’s how many customers are — they don’t know. That’s why Impact Questions are so valuable. They help customers explore the vast Ripple Effect created by the frustrating problems they’ve grown accustomed to living with.

Rules of Thumb ● Make sure you know the business ramifications yourself before you make sales calls. I’m always amazed how few sellers take the time to really know the Ripple Effect caused by not using their product or service. Understanding the full range of ramifications is essential. You can’t sell without knowing them. Sometimes whole companies are just plain “off” in knowing the real value of their offering. One company I consulted for sold consumables into the printing industry. When they introduced this one new product, everyone was elated.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

84

Winning Sales Questions It was truly state-of-the-art and provided outstanding color quality. But many sellers never made the connection between the excellent color and the ability to: -

Reduce labor costs (one customer cut staff by 1/3). Cut waste (significant financial saving).

-

Decrease customer turnaround time (by 1-2 days). Optimize existing equipment (delay $100,000 purchases). Add additional workload (30% growth handled with less staff). Decrease costly customer changes. Create a competitive edge in market.

This was the real value of their new product. It solved many of the problems that most printers just lived with in the past. And look at the vast Ripple Effect customers experienced with the old way! ● Customize your Impact Questions. Most of the questions in this book are purposefully generic. After you determine the multiple ways that the lack of your product or service impacts your customer’s business, then you’ll need to develop your own questions. Since these questions are so powerful, the more you can customize them to your customer’s unique situation, the better sales results you’ll see.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

85

Winning Sales Questions ● Don’t be afraid to explore additional business ramifications. Sometimes good open-ended questions can turn up some things you never knew about. Maybe no one in your company knew about these things either. Be curious and find out – ask those 2nd and 3rd level questions where you explore your customer’s answers in more depth. Be curious! The pay-off can be huge. ● Use close-ended Impact Questions to show your knowledge and expertise. Because you work with many different companies, it’s likely that you have a much broader understanding of the customer’s situation than they have. This is a great time to demonstrate – via questions – that you’re truly an expert in your field. For example, your close-ended questioning might look like this: Seller:

You said you’re having trouble handling this application. I’ll bet you’re also getting a lot of 309 error messages too?

Customer:

Right.

Seller:

And then you have to shut everything down and go offline for half an hour till it’s fixed? Right?

See how closed-ended questions cut quickly to the real issues and demonstrate how well you know your stuff.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

86

Winning Sales Questions Key Words Impact Questions take customer problems and extend them. Some people say these questions “Go for the Pain.” They ask them to make their customers feel absolutely miserable with their current system and drive them to a change. I disagree. Most customers haven’t fully explored the business ramifications of their current systems, processes, or vendors. It’s your job as a professional to help them understand these things. These questions help customers realize the Ripple Effects of their problems, difficulties, bottlenecks and dissatisfactions. By asking them, customers learn the true impact of their current method of operation. This is highly valuable for customers. Notice how each question in the section below contains the following key words. Impact Affect Effect Implications

Consequences Ramifications Cause additional problems with:

Problem with X lead to problem Y And then what happens…

Sample Impact Questions Listed below are a number of Impact Questions you can ask your customers. Select those that are most relevant to your product or service. You may want to customize them so that they’re “right on”. Or, use the questions below as guidelines for developing your own. How do these problems affect profitability?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

86

Winning Sales Questions How does the difficulty with __ impact performance? How do your problems with __ prevent you from achieving your objectives? (After a statement of a problem/concern) -

And then what happens? What are the consequences of that? And what does that, in turn, impact?

What are the implications for your organization if those problems aren’t addressed successfully? What’s the Ripple Effect of the problem you described? What other areas are impacted? You mentioned a concern with turnover. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions based on my experience working with companies in this area for many years? -

How is that impacting your: Customer satisfaction? Training costs? Hiring costs? Productivity in the area? Unemployment taxes? Cost of temporaries? Error rate and rework?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

88

Winning Sales Questions If these cross-functional problems continue, what affect will it have on customer service? -

Sales? Production? Operating costs?

You said you had problems with __? -

How do you measure __? What is it now? What would you like it to be? What would the impact be if the problem were eliminated? How do you quantify it annually? Over a three year period, what’s the financial impact then of not doing anything differently?

If the management team doesn’t buy into the new process, what impact will that have on its success? If quality isn’t consistent, what happens to sales? -

Production schedules? Costs? Customer service? Time-to-market?

Have problems with __ ever lead to problems in other areas?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

89

Winning Sales Questions If __ isn’t done correctly, what are the ramifications for your group? How will the financial cutbacks you’re facing impact your ability to serve your customers? What are the affects of these problems on revenue? (Other departments? Customer service? Turnover? Legal issues?) Besides your group, what other parts of your organization are being affected by this problem? What other areas of the company are impacted by this bottleneck you described? You said it’s hard to do __. What affect does this have on your turnaround time? (Meeting deadlines? Partnership relationships? Overtime?) Based on my experience with __, if you have problems with that, it often leads to problems in __ areas too. Is that happening here? What other departments are affected by this problem? What is the financial impact of the problems you’re having with __? What affect does this have on __? If you are doing things this way, I suspect you’re also having problems with __ too. Am I right? What are the risks of doing nothing?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

90

Winning Sales Questions What is the operational impact of the problem you described on the various departments? Which group is impacted most by the slow __? (Service? Turnaround times? Processes? ) Does the difficulty in doing __, lead to bottlenecks in this other area?

Impact Questions are critical! You must ask about business ramifications if you want to be successful in selling to major accounts. Top sellers use them often, average sellers rarely. These questions are highly valuable for customers, who often learn as much as the seller when they explore the Ripple Effect of their current methods.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

91

Winning Sales Questions Clarifying the Value “We need to ask the right questions to reveal the answers.”

After you’ve explored the vast Ripple Effect of your customer’s problems, it’s time to determine the pay-off they would get from resolving them. If in fact, there are many costly ramifications from their current way of doing business – it’s time to move your customer into taking action to change things.

– Jonas Salk

Value Questions explore the pay-offs customers get from making a change. You’ll love them. When customers answer these questions, they tell you how their business would be better if their problems were solved and their gaps closed. In essence, customers are selling themselves on why they should move to your product or service. Value Questions totally replace those disgusting, manipulative closing questions that sleaze-bag sellers ask: “If I could show you a way to double your sales, would you buy from me today? You’ll never have to ask, “Do you want to buy?” and feel like your whole life is dangling on the line while you wait for customers to answer. Imagine that! No more stupid, life-threatening closing questions. Just easy-to-ask questions that are totally normal in everyday conversation. And that’s not all! Research shows that two days after sales calls, customers remember less than 5% of the benefits you shared about your product or service. That’s right, less than 5%! If that’s all they remember, why bother talking at all?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

92

Winning Sales Questions But customers do remember over 90% of what they said. So, rather than wasting all your time trying to “sell” customers on your benefits – let them talk. By answering the Value Questions, customers remember the plusses of your solution. After all, they said it, not you. 90% retention! But wait, there’s even more: If customers remember the value your offering provides, they tell others about it. With these Value Questions you develop a whole new sales channel – key employees wandering around their company spouting the benefits of your solution. They will be selling for you even when you’re not in the account. Immediately replace any “old-style” closing techniques with these incredibly high pay-off Value Questions. Customers will sell themselves AND others in their company for you. All you need to do is advance the sales process to its next logical step.

Rules of Thumb ● After you ask these questions, sit back and listen. That’s right, I’m telling you to lean back again. If you’re sitting on the edge of your chair drooling for the order, you’ve lost it. Remember – you’re having a discussion, a conversation. Lean back, breathe deeply and don’t look over-anxious. ● Take good notes—especially right now. Your customer is telling you the value of solving his or her business problems. This information is invaluable for future presentations and proposals. If you don’t capture it at the time you hear it, this irreplaceable information may be lost forever. Don’t take this chance. Always take good notes.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

93

Winning Sales Questions ● Be careful not to turn these questions into old-style manipulative closes. It can easily happen. Some sellers just can’t get those “If I could show you a way” techniques out of their head. If your questions come out like this, everything you’ve done to be consultative is lost. Customers think you’re just another peddler.

Key Words Value Questions turn the discussion away from the negative and focus on solving the problem. They’re positive and solution-oriented. Ask them after you’ve explored the Ripple Effect – the full ramifications of your customer’s business problems and gaps. Also, explore your customer’s answers in depth to make sure you really understand the pay-off they get from your product or service. Help Important Aid Relieve

Useful Alleviate Assist Improve

Useful Better Worth Value

Sample Value Questions Listed below are a number of Value Questions you can ask your customers. Select those that are most relevant to your product or service. You may want to customize them so that they’re “right on”. Or, use the questions below as guidelines for developing your own.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

94

Winning Sales Questions If that problem could be solved, what value would it provide for your organization? -

What is the value over an 18-month period? 3-year period?

Why do you think a new system would help solve the problems you’ve described? If your new product comes out on schedule versus 3 months late (which you say is typical), how does that affect its overall lifetime profitability? Why is it important for you to fix __? Help me better understand why cutting turnaround time is so important. What major benefits do you expect from implementing a new ___ system? In what other ways would it assist your company if this function were outsourced? If you could save 40,000 minutes per year in this department, what would your staff do with the all the extra time? If those steps could be eliminated from the process, what would that mean to the organization? How important is it for you to find a better way to address the issues you mentioned? Tell me more. What is it worth to you to free up additional space? Time? Resources?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

95

Winning Sales Questions If you could do the same amount of work with 33% fewer people, what type of savings would your realize annually? How would making a change enable your organization to better meet its goals and objectives? What financial (and other) benefits would you receive, if you could shorten the lead-time? Reduce the time to market? Eliminate the bottleneck? How would saving significant time in ___ be of value to your group? If you solved this problem, what would you be able to do that you can’t do now? What does that mean to you? What benefits would you realize if that issue was resolved? How would getting a new system (process, vendor) that can handle those needs be useful to your organization? Are there any other ways it would help? You said you could save lots of money by changing how you’re currently doing things; what will you do with the increased cash flow? Would it be useful to have a system that did __? In what ways?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

96

Winning Sales Questions Can you tell me how shortening the turnaround time would be valuable to your organization? To your customers? How would it help if you could __? Tell me more. What is it worth to your company to reduce/increase __? If this situation were remedied, what is the most important benefit for your sales force? Are there any other ways that improvements in operational efficiency would be of value? Why is doing something about this situation important to you?

These questions are HIGHLY correlated with sales success, yet most sellers hardly ask any. If they did, their job would be so much easier. Customers actually sell themselves and others in their company. No more closing!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

96

Winning Sales Questions Summary Good questions are the key to turning customers who are merely frustrated with their current situation into active, eager buyers. But insightful, business-oriented questions don’t just roll off your tongue when you’re with a customer. They require planning. To develop them, first analyze your product or service offering to determine the problems you can solve. Then, explore the Ripple Effect – what other problems are caused by the problems? Finally, think about the true value you can provide. When you’re all done with that, create a list of 10 primary questions you want to ask your customers when you’re in a meeting. This Top 10 List will guide you through your sales calls – keeping the focus on your customer where it belongs. If you follow this process, you will significantly increase your sales success in major accounts. It makes all the difference in the world!

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

98

Winning Sales Questions 9. Winning Competitive Situations “What concerns me is not the way things are,but the way people think things are.” – Epictetus

Karen, a sales rep who worked for me, came into my office one day and plopped down on a chair – the very picture of discouragement. I asked what was wrong. “I spent hours helping this customer understand how to improve their workflow,” she said. “They finally decided to change. Our system is the perfect fit and they know it. But five minutes ago, they told me they were going to look around. Everything I did was a waste of time.” Ever been in this situation? I have – many times. And like Karen, I was totally discouraged at first. Then I finally realized that customers make two very separate decisions. The first decision is “Should we change?” and the second one is “What’s the best option for us?” As sellers, we have to make two distinct sales. The first sale, which is covered in the previous chapter, focused on using questions to discover customer problems, explore the Ripple Effect and assess the value of making a change. Investing time with customers before they decide to buy puts you in a stronger position. You learn their business, establish relationships with key players and have opportunities to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. By the time they look at options, you’ve helped set some decision criteria, established trust and proven you’re a valuable business resource. Even though you were the person who helped them understand why a change was imperative, you still haven’t won the business yet.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

99

Winning Sales Questions Once customers decide to invest money in a new solution, they move to the second phase of the decision process. They MUST look at alternatives. Unless you’re a long-term preferred supplier or trusted business resource, your customers are compelled to evaluate the various options that could solve their problems. At first, they’ll consider factors such as this: ● Can they upgrade existing equipment, processes or systems? ● Can they handle the problem internally or is an outside supplier needed? ● Should they outsource the function entirely? As your customer sorts through all the alternatives available to them, new decisions pop up: ● ● ● ●

What criteria should they use to evaluate these options? What’s most important to them? What results to they want to achieve? How can they decide between the suppliers?

It’s at this stage of the customer’s decision process that RFPs and RFIs are issued. It’s also the time for presentations, reference checking, demonstrations, visiting install sites, testing applications and reviewing proposals. It’s tough to enter the decision process at this stage of the sales process. But in order to increase your likelihood of winning the business, there’s still so much more you need to learn. When you’ve found a hot prospect – one who is actually looking for your product or service and has money budgeted for it – don’t make the classic “eager-beaver” mistake! What is that, you might ask?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

100

Winning Sales Questions Well, this hot prospect is interested in learning all about your offering – right? They’ve asked you to come in to talk with them about it or to give a presentation to a committee – right? If you’re like most sellers, you can hardly wait for this opportunity to present. Finally, you can share all your great capabilities with someone who’s interested and wants to buy. Frantically you pull together everything you need. Perhaps it’s a PowerPoint presentation, brochures, samples or testimonials. You’re all set to go in and “WOW” them. What’s my advice to you right now? Don’t! Giving a presentation without the necessary background knowledge is the quickest way to lose this opportunity. You don’t know enough yet. And until you learn more, anything you say or do at this point is like shooting in the dark. You may even inadvertently talk yourself right out of this opportunity. In short, here’s what you still need to learn: ● ● ● ●

Why they’ve decided to make a change and what they’re hoping to accomplish. How decisions are made in their organization. Who is involved in the decision process – and what’s important to him or her. What criteria will be used in evaluating the options – and the relative importance of the various criteria. ● Any financial or budget considerations you should be aware of. ● And, what could possibly stop the sale from moving ahead. Once again, questions are essential to your sales success. That’s the focus of this chapter – what to ask when your customer is evaluating options.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

101

Winning Sales Questions What’s the Reason for a Change? “Don’t be afraid to ask “dumb” questions.”

If you’ve been called into an account when the customer has already decided to make the change, these questions are imperative to ask. They help you understand where the customer is coming from and why a change was deemed necessary.

– Carl Sagan

Sample Questions Why are you making this change? What were the initial problems that led to your organization’s desire to make a change? What are all the issues that you hope this solution will successfully address? You said that __ was an issue that you were hoping this new offering would improve. -

Have you had problems with __ in the past? What was the impact of these problems of your organization? What other areas were affected besides yours? How will you know with certainty that you’re getting exactly what you want with a new __? What pay-off would you anticipate receiving if this problem were eliminated?

From what you described, the need to change is acute; what has stopped you from doing something about it till now? What process did you go through to determine your needs?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

102

Winning Sales Questions What do you want to see accomplished as a result of this change? What could happen that would make this no longer an organizational priority? What prompted your company to look into this? If no action were taken on this initiative, what would happen? From your perspective, what would you expect to be different after the new system/process was implemented? What are the costs of continuing with your current systems (processes, vendor, partner)? Who wants this problem solved most? Why? What does solving the problem mean to your department? To your organization? What is your company hoping to achieve by implementing this new solution (technology, program, system)? What are the primary drivers behind your decision to make a change?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

103

Winning Sales Questions Lookers or Buyers? Sometimes customers just want to “learn” about what’s available in the market. They haven’t committed to making a change yet. They’re not convinced that it’s a good investment of corporate resources. If you find this out after asking these Reason-for-Change Questions, be willing to help them but also realize that they are NOT a ‘hot prospect.’ You might want to suggest a thorough needs assessment to help them determine if making a change would be of value. Be willing to offer this, as opposed to pressing for the order. Remember, they’re not yet convinced it’s time to buy. If they agree to your needs assessment proposition, it’s time to go back to the questions in the previous chapter. Make sure you understand their problems and challenges first. Then explore the business ramifications of what they’re currently using or doing. Most of your competitors won’t do this. They’ll push hard to get the order, perhaps even alienating prospective customers along the way. Rather than slowing down the sales process to solidify the opportunity, they move full speed ahead. If necessary, be willing to take a step back. If customers aren’t ready to spend the money, realize that by helping them understand their situation better you can demonstrate your expertise and commitment to their success.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

104

Winning Sales Questions Determining the Decision Process “The power to question is the basis of all human progress.”

To be successful in sales, you need to make sure that all your bases are covered. Who’s making the financial decisions? Technical decisions? Who’s a real influencer? This knowledge is critical to formulate an effective account strategy. There are two excellent books on this subject: “Strategic Selling” and “Power-Based Selling.” I highly recommend them both.

– Indira Gandhi

Sample Questions Who, besides yourself, is involved in making the decision to move ahead with a project to address the issue you described? When were you hoping to get started on this project? When do you expect to be achieving your desired results? In your company, what does it take to get a decision of this magnitude made? -

What are all the steps that your organization has to go through so that the decision makers feel comfortable going ahead with the process and with their ultimate selection? What different decisions will be made at each step of the process? Help me understand the relative time frame for each of the steps? Are different people involved at different steps of the process? Can you tell me about each of them and if they might have different criteria for evaluating their alternatives?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

105

Winning Sales Questions Based on my experience in decisions like this, finance and legal typically need to get involved. Should we be talking to them soon? Could you outline the steps and process for your committee will go through to reach a decision on this project? Who is the person who has the final say on going ahead with this purchase? If you decide to go forward with a purchase/project, when would you see it beginning? How do you see this process rolling out? If you decide to use external resources, how would you determine which vendors (suppliers, service providers) to evaluate? What other areas in the company will be affected by this decision? Should we get them involved early? What will it take to establish a business relationship between our companies? Do you have any internal resources that could potentially solve or address your problems? When your company is considering a major capital outlay, who is involved in the budgeting process? Is a committee involved in making this decision? If so, can you tell me about its make-up?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

106

Winning Sales Questions Is there anyone on the committee (in the decision process) who might be opposed to going ahead with this? Can you tell me more? Based on your knowledge of the key players, does anybody have preferences for a particular vendor (professional services firm, product, supplier)? What’s behind this preference? How can I/we help you as you move through your evaluation process?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

107

Winning Sales Questions Clarifying the Decision Criteria “A pair of good ears will drain dry a hundred tongues.” – Ben Franklin

These questions help you understand exactly what is involved in the customer’s decision process. You must understand their process, requirements and priorities. You also want to know how customers perceive your offering and your competitors. In working with customers at this stage, your job is to help them understand why your company gets the job done better than competitors. If you don’t know what’s important to customers, you can’t do your job effectively. The answers to these Decision Criteria Questions will be integrated into future discussions, proposals, presentations and more. That’s why these questions need to be asked.

Sample Questions What criteria will be most important as you evaluate the alternatives? What alternatives are you considering? How will you be evaluating these alternatives? What factors are critical to this decision? As you make this decision, what does your committee view as “must-have” capabilities? “Nice-tohave capabilities? How do you measure success working with your current supplier? What are your requirements/expectations regarding this new product (service, solution, process)?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

108

Winning Sales Questions How will you select the right resources (suppliers, service, product)? What other companies are you looking at? Do you already have an established relationship with any of the other companies you’re considering? If you already working with __ company, why would you consider other options? You mentioned that customer service and turnaround time are important factors in your decision. How will you evaluate companies in these areas? When you say “service” is important in your decision, can you tell me what types of things you’re including in your definition? What’s important to you (your company) in a relationship with a company like ours? What are your criteria for establishing a new business relationship? What’s important to you in a business partner? What alternatives are you considering? If you determine that several companies meet your needs, what other criteria become important in your decision?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

109

Winning Sales Questions What is your organization’s overall purchasing philosophy? What are your vendor selection criteria? Do you typically sole source purchases or do you prefer to have multiple vendors? What skills would you look for in someone who could help you in these problem areas? Looking at all the criteria you’ve established, how do you prioritize them? Knowing that all criteria aren’t created equal, how do you weight the various factors involved in your decision? As you evaluate companies (solutions, products, services, suppliers) like ours, what’s important to you in a relationship? Based on what you’ve learned so far, what do you think are my organization’s (product, service) strengths and weaknesses? Looking at your criteria, how do we currently stack up against the other companies wanting to do business with your organization? If quality (service, support) is a critical part of your decision, how will you evaluate the various solutions? What do you feel are the most important attributes of a supplier?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

110

Winning Sales Questions Understanding Players & Politics “To get thine ends, lay bashfulness aside; who fears to ask, doth teach to be deny’d.” – Thomas Herrick

Once you understand who is involved in the decision process, it’s time to learn more about the individual players. Much as we sometimes hate it, politics is often a huge part of the decisions that are made. Being aware of what makes key players tick, their background, issues, concerns and values is essential information for developing your strategy. If you want to ‘win’, pay attention to these details — they do make a difference. Often, if you have a “coach” in the account, you can ask him or her these questions about the others involved in the decision process. They can give you an insider’s awareness of what’s really happening or their perception of it.

Sample Questions What’s at stake for him or her personally with this decision? How long has he been in this position? What are her primary responsibilities? What are his top three priorities? What’s important to her?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

111

Winning Sales Questions What are his key issues and challenges? How would you describe the critical issues affecting her area of responsibility right now? What is his charter? What is he trying to accomplish? How would you describe his decision-making style? Management style? On what initiatives does he spend the bulk of his time? What were her primary accomplishments in her previous position? What does he hope to achieve with this project? What would it mean to him and his organization? Who might oppose a decision along these lines and for what reasons? Who is in favor of moving ahead and why?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

112

Winning Sales Questions Finding Out Financial Issues “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” – Naquib Mahfouz, Author

The more you know about the economics of the decision, the stronger your strategy. There is one caveat here: Don’t let lack of funding grind your sales efforts to a halt. If someone wants something badly enough, it has always amazed me how fast funds can appear. They just get pulled from some other less urgent priority.

Sample Questions How much money has your company allocated for this solution? I’m curious – how was that amount of funding determined? I’m sure you’ve established a budget for this decision. Can you give me an idea of what kind of money we’re talking about? Where does funding for a project/product like this come from? Could you explain your budgeting process for this project? How does your organization go about cost-justifying a purchase for this type of product/service? What hurdle rate does your company require for its investments? What return on investment (ROI) are you looking for and within what time frame?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

113

Winning Sales Questions What does your organization consider a good payback period? What guidelines do you use to justify a capital expense? If you can’t afford the entire solution at once, are you interested in evaluating ways to get started in the right direction? Does your company prefer leasing versus a direct purchase? How else might you consider funding this decision? Is it easier to get this approved through the capital budget or through operating expenses?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

114

Winning Sales Questions Uncovering the Showstoppers “Did you hear that? I didn’t hear anything. Put that question another way.” – Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs

Ask these questions at the very end of the decision process – when you know that your customer wants to do business with you, but they haven’t yet signed a contract. Showstopper Questions uncover customer’s final concerns – items that can grind the whole sales process to a halt. Just before customers are ready to buy, they get scared. What if things don’t work out? What if it’s a bad decision? What if … What if … What if? In the technology industry, customers may worry about if the supplier will be around next year. In consulting, customers may be concerned about who will be actually doing the work. If customers are remote, service issues are always a concern. If a company has downsizing, customers worry what it means to them. And everyone worries about if they’re getting a good “deal” or not. Customers typically have final concerns in these areas: -

Installation Delivery time Training Service quality or availability “Quality” of deal Industry rumors Past experience New management Financial viability of vendor Your capability in delivery results

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

115

Winning Sales Questions -

Their organizations readiness to move ahead Sole practitioners lack of scope

Making big decisions is high risk; careers can rise or fall based on how things turn out. And most of all, nobody wants to look like they made a stupid decision. As a seller, it’s your responsibility to surface these final concerns. It might seem like you’re raising red flags by asking them, but let me assure you that it’s not the case. You’re just double-checking. If you don’t ask, everything you worked so long and hard for could disappear overnight. Think about your own company. What concerns might prospective customers have about your organization’s ability to deliver their desired results? What concerns have you or others in your company already encountered? Be bold and bring them up next time you’re near the end of a sales cycle. Ask … Ask … Ask. If you don’t, the customer’s hidden fears may be enough to stop the show.

Sample Questions What final concerns do you have prior to going ahead? Are there any potential barriers to us doing business together? Are you aware of any obstacles to us working together on this project? Is there anything else we need to cover? Any areas where you still have questions or concerns?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

116

Winning Sales Questions Is there anything else you want to tell me or that you think I should know to ensure things go smoothly as we work together?

What Do You Do Next? It’s so easy to get excited at this stage of the sales process! Finally, someone wants to buy your products. At last, a client wants to hire you (or someone like you) for a project. After all the doors you’ve knocked on and rejection you’ve experienced, it’s such a joy to find a buyer who actually is interested in your offering. Remember, you’ll make a huge mistake if you start “pitching” your product or services right away. Instead, ask your prospective customer some questions from each chapter of this book. Understanding all the factors involved in the customer’s buying process is essential for developing an account plan – or even knowing what to do next. What you learn enables you to: ● Determine if you’re actually a good fit – and can help the customer achieve their objectives. ● Identify good reference accounts (other customers with similar problems or wanting similar outcomes). ● Determine the urgency of the decision and assess how much time and effort to put into winning the business. ● Ensure you’re meeting with all the right people – even if they’re not currently “in the loop.”

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

117

Winning Sales Questions ● Know which of your capabilities to highlight because it’s important to the buyers and it’s a competitive advantage of yours. ● Know what you’ll need to minimize in the buying process because you’re not strong in that area, it’s not critical and your competitor has an advantage. ● Assess what you need to do to meet the customer’s financial requirements for making major investments. ● Plan a competitive strategy. ● Determine how you’ll approach and work with each of the people involved in the decisionprocess based on their own unique perspectives, values, talents, preferences and personal/professional “wins”. ● Resolve situations that may be hidden, but could prevent the client from going ahead and doing business with you. But the questions themselves aren’t the end of the journey. What you do with the information and how you process it is the key. Take the information you learn and pose questions to yourself: ● What does this information really mean? ● How does my customer see things – and what does that mean I have to do if I want him/her to understand the value of my offering?

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

118

Winning Sales Questions ● How do I fight those tough competitors with integrity? ● What obstacles might I encounter – and how can I eliminate them by proactive thinking? Powerful, insightful questions are the best sales tools you have. Ask them. Process the information. Create and implement account strategies. It’s the only way to win sales in highly competitive markets. Successful selling is always based on a solid foundation of knowledge – much of which is learned by asking insightful, powerful questions. Become an expert at this skill and you’ll have more business than you can handle.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

119

Winning Sales Questions 10. Is Anyone Listening? “No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious.” – George Bernard Shaw

All through this book, we’ve talked about the incredible power of questions. There is another half to this equation — listening. All top sellers practice excellent listening skills. If they didn’t, their high integrity, high impact questions would go to waste. Here are some ideas that help you improve your listening skills and demonstrate to your customers that you’re really interested in what they have to say:

Write Your Questions Down If I’ve said this once, I’ve said it a hundred times. Now, here’s another good reason why you need to do this: Research shows that brains can’t listen and think at the same time. Without written questions, sellers are constantly thinking about what to say, do, or ask next. If sellers do this while customers are talking, they don’t hear what was said. What’s lost? Valuable information for one thing. Also customers don’t like bad listeners; respect and credibility diminishes, while the perception of self-serving behavior increases. No seller wants that kind of rap.

Get Comfortable with Silence If you remember, earlier in this book I told you that the average seller couldn’t stand more silence and doesn’t wait more than three seconds before jumping in again. But if the question was really good or highly provocative, the average responder takes 8-10 seconds to reply.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

120

Winning Sales Questions Practice counting to 10 while you wait. Even if you only make it to 6, you’ve doubled your listening time. There is an old saying in the sales profession that “He who talks first loses.” While that may be true in tense negotiation sessions where there is a winner and a loser, it doesn’t really apply to everyday sales discussions with customers. But sellers who talk to fill in the gaps do end up losing some things: valuable customer information and the customer’s respect. That’s pretty darn important if you ask me!

Use Non-verbal Behaviors Maintain eye contact with the person who is talking, but don’t stare. If you’re looking around, fiddling through your briefcase or distracted in any other way, customers will sense it. Nod your head and smile as you listen. This encourages people to continue talking.

Use Conversation Encouragers These are just simple phrases that, in conjunction with non-verbal behaviors, really show customers you’re listening. Conversation extenders include comments such as: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

I see. Wow! Keep going. Hmmm. That’s interesting. Yes. That’s a new perspective.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

121

Winning Sales Questions Use Conversation Extenders Phrases such as the ones listed below show people you’re really interested in what they have to say. And, they keep people talking. The information that comes out as people expand on the topic is often the most valuable of all. Use phrases such as: ● ● ● ● ● ●

Tell me more. Could you describe that in more detail? Would you expand on that? I’m not sure I understand that; could you go into more depth. Why? Why? Why? What happens then?

Being a good listener is an incredible gift you can give your customers. I strongly recommend you invest time learning more about being a better listener and practicing the skill too.

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

122

Winning Sales Questions Final Thoughts I fully realize that I have not succeeded in answering all of your questions … Indeed, I feel I have not answered any of them completely. The answers I have found only serve to raise a whole new set of questions, which only lead to more problems, some of which we weren’t even aware were problems. To sum it all up ... In some ways I feel we are as confused as ever, but I believe we are confused on a higher level and about more important things.

~ Anonymous

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

123

Winning Sales Questions About Jill Konrath Jill Konrath is an internationally recognized author and sales strategist in the highly competitive business-to-business market. She's a popular speaker at annual sales meetings, kickoff events and professional conferences. Her focus? Helping sellers crack into corporate accounts, speed up their sales cycle and win more business. Jill's first book was the award-winning Selling to Big Companies, a Fortune magazine "must read" and Amazon Top 25 Sales Book for over 4 years. Her second book, SNAP Selling (May 2010), shows sellers how to increase their effectiveness with today's crazy-busy buyers. Contact Info Phone: 651-429-1922 Website: www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jillkonrath Twitter: @jillkonrath

www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com

©Jill Konrath 2010

124

Self-Study Program Getting Into Big Companies Volume 1: Building Your Sales Foundation

Stop struggling to crack into corporate accounts. Learn how to capture the decision maker's attention, shorten your sales cycle, set up meetings, eliminate objections and more.

1. Cracking the Corporate Code 2. Finding Customers Ready to Buy 3. Developing Strong Value Propositions 4. Winning Big Clients When You're Not a Huge Company

Volume 2: Launching the "Getting In" Campaign 1. 2. 3. 4.

The Elusive Corporate Buyer Crafting Your Account Entry Plan Creating Enticing Value Propositions Avoiding the Seduction of Low Hanging Fruit

Only $349 ● ●

What People Say ● Thanks for articulating the sales process in such a fantastic way. Since using it, I've landed 14 new clients in 6 weeks with projects ranging from $50,000 to well over $1,000,000. Kent Speakman, Suitcase Interactive

Volume 3 Breaking Through Sales Barriers 1. 2. 3. 4.

Setting Up Appointments with Ease Dealing with the "Tough Stuff" Awesome Initial Meetings Tapping Into Your Sales Genius

12-CD Set, Recorded live 60 minutes each w/Q&A

● You helped me get my foot in the door rather than bang my head against it. What's the ultimate value to me? About $90,000 in the first year alone. Dan Markovitz, TimeBack Management

● Using your strategies, I called the CFO and left a value proposition focused voicemail. The next day, the Operations Vice President called me! This process took 90 more days to complete, but last week we won a verbal commitment for $5M in business plus there's potential for $10M more next year. Jim Cox, IC Systems

Ordering instructions on the next page.

Yes! I'd like to order the Getting Into Big Companies Self-Study Program for only $349 + $19 shipping/handling I'm looking forward to getting it 10-14 business days. Here's the info you need to get it to me as soon as possible.

My Name: __________________________________________________ (as it appears on credit card) Payment Type: Card Number: Exp. Date:

■ Check (enclosed) Credit Card: ■ Visa ■ AMEX ■ Master ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■/■■

E-mail: _________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________ Delivery Instructions:

Mail Completed Form To:

Company Name: (if sent to your office) _________________________________________________________________________________________

Selling to Big Companies 2227 Foxtail Ct., St. Paul, MN 55110, USA

Street: ________________________________________________________ Apt/Suite # ______________

Email Form To:

City/Town _____________________________________________ State/Province: _________________

[email protected]

Zip/Mailing Code ______________________________ Country ________________________________

Note: For delivery outside North America, shipping & handling is $39.

If you’re not satisfied for any reason, you will get a full refund — no questions asked.