I help founders who sell, but aren't "sales"people. Are you open to one hyper actionable sales tip per week, useful for your very next sales meeting and consumable in 4 minutes or less?
123: Asking Questions
|
Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 3 minutes. The quality of the answers you get is determined by the quality of the questions you ask. Today we'll cover:
Storytime During the week, I was reviewing the slides for a webinar I regularly run, which reminded me how low the bar is for being great at questions. Because most sellers outright suck at asking questions. And it's not their fault, just like everything, there is a framework and a structure to asking great questions. Today is a hyper-practical list of question types and styles you can use in your next sales meeting. Lead with Questions An average seller closes more deals per month than an average buyer purchases in a year. Which means even average sellers are experts on what it takes to buy, and even more so on what it takes to buy their product. And buyers know this. Therefore, buyers expect sellers to lead sales calls. They expect the seller to guide them, since the buyer doesn't know what is needed to pitch your product. And specificity in your questioning is the only way to lead effectively. Example, never start a sales meeting with: "Tell me about your pains," or "So, how can I help?" Always start with a specific ask, bonus points if it's well researched or directly related to their industry, such as (fill in the blanks): "I saw XXX on your website, and it led me to wonder about YYY - help me understand if YYY is relevant right now or if it's something else that led to this meeting?" Types and Examples Below is a list of question types, their intended purpose, and an example for each. 1. Soft Closes At every stage of a sales journey, you need to ensure the buyer sees value. The more value you build, the simpler it is to close a deal. Soft Close questions can be Closed (Yes or No) or Open (soliciting a deeper response). Examples: Closed - "Does that fit what you were looking for?"
Open - "Help me understand, how do you see yourself/your team benefiting from what we just covered?"
​More here​ 2. Clarifier Most buyers suck at asking questions; therefore, before you answer a buyer's question, make sure to clarify that you are answering their actual question. Example: "To understand you meant XXX, what does that mean to you?" ​More here​ 3. Objection handling Often, buyers will ask for something hyper-specific you don't have (example: "Does it come in blue?"). However, they're almost always trying to solve a deeper objection, and if you use a question to shift the focus, you should be able to answer the deeper objection. Example: "When you talk about XYZ, most people ask that because ABC is the deeper priority, is that right, or were you trying to solve for something else?" 4. "No" Questions From an early age, children learn that the answer "Yes" is dangerous, especially to a salesperson. And by extension, "No" is safe. Use this childhood programming to your advantage by asking questions where "No" is the best answer for you. Example: "I assume you've given up trying to save money on XXX?" 5. Commanding Statements Replacing questions with statements can allow you to ask for a hyper-specific piece of information that is hard to do with a traditional question. Example: "You just told me XXX; please make that real for me with a specific example." ​More here​ 6. Assumptive Used in moderation, assumptions can move a conversation forward and position you as an expert in the industry. Example: "I assume that means you're struggling with XXX?" 7. Wrong Assumptions Buyers love to correct sellers. If you occasionally make wrong assumptions, buyers might correct you with the right information. Use Wrong Assumptions exceedingly sparingly because they have the possibility of making you look incompetent and untrustworthy. Example: "Right, so I assume that is costing you at least $10,000 per month?" 8. Really Bombs Robert Cialdini's "Law of Consistency" means people have a deep need to be consistent with their past words or behaviours. By dropping a Really Bomb immediately after a buyer says something positive, you give them a chance to be consistent with their words. The answer to a Really Bomb provides you with insight into your buyers' real thinking. Example: When they say something positive, respond: "Really? I was just talking to someone else, and they hated *the thing they just said they liked*. Why do you like it?" ​More here​ 9. Confusion When you are unsure what to ask or how to move a conversation forward, use the ultimate "get out of jail free" question. Simply ask: "What do you mean?" Pick one of the above question types and use it in your next sales meeting. Until next week, PS Did someone forward you this email, and it seems like something you want more of: Link to subscribe​ PPS You can find the back catalogue here, all 120+ newsletters: https://thesalesmastermind.kit.com/​ |
Hi! It's The Sales Mastermind
I help founders who sell, but aren't "sales"people. Are you open to one hyper actionable sales tip per week, useful for your very next sales meeting and consumable in 4 minutes or less?
Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 3 minutes. Today, let's walk through the pre-call research I do for inbound leads or referrals. One of my strengths is my ability to, from the outside, read the mechanics that make a business tick, quickly understand their clients, and then rapidly generate metaphors that will land for what I do and how it helps. But it didn't just happen; I spent years getting it wrong and countless sales calls stumbling over my words,...
Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 2 minutes. Most sellers barely consider a fraction of their true competition. Most buyers think about nothing else but your competition. Today we’ll cover: Storytime Your True Competition Other Competitors Storytime One of my clients generates almost all their leads from review websites. They have amazing reviews on platforms such as Google Business, Capterra, and more. It's so ingrained into their business that...
Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 3 minutes. "Founders who sell" are universally excited to become "founders who lead sellers". But that transition is often harder than learning to sell in the first place. Today we’ll cover: Storytime Sales Management is Different Sales Meetings The Larry Storytime I work with a founder who is an elite seller; he has closed millions of dollars' worth of deals. His company is now big enough that it needs a founder-leader...