How to Get Good Information From Prospects

According to a study conducted by The Sales Board in Minneapolis, Minnesota:
86% of salespeople ask the wrong questions.

Result? They miss opportunities and end up wasting customer time while appearing unprofessional.

This research involved 16,000 customers and 300 salespeople in 25 different industries.

GETTING USEFUL INFORMATION

Getting good information from prospective buyers is critical.

If you don’t know which PRODUCTS your prospect buys, and you don’t know WHERE they buy and what they PAY, you won’t know whether or not you can fill their needs.

But getting this information can be time-consuming unless the right questions are asked. ONE open-ended question can get more information faster than MULTIPLE closed-ended questions.

Example of closed-ended questions:

Are you the person who buys the toner for your office?
Where do you buy your toner?
What are you currently paying for toner?
How often do you buy?
Do you buy branded or generic toner?
What quantity do you buy?
These questions could generate a quick one-word answer and prospects may lose patience by the time you get to question number six.

Closed-ended questions don’t require much thought or consideration. You might easily be dismissed after a quick answer to a closed-ended question.

THE BEST QUESTIONS TO ASK

One open-ended question can produce the answer to most of the closed-ended questions above:

Example:

"How is your toner currently purchased?"

An open-ended questions like this one causes the prospect to:

Think
Respond

and become involved in a conversation with you.

Once the prospect is INVOLVED in the conversation, he or she is more likely to LISTEN to the specific benefits you can offer.

About the Author

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