At the end of the day, the art of selling comes down to “communication”. And as the old story goes, it is not “what you say” but “how you say it”.
As a result, this section deals with how to ask your questions to get the best possible answers.
3 types of questions:
Question Styles | Explanation | Difficulty Level | Effectiveness |
---|---|---|---|
Closed | Answers can only be “yes” or “no” | Easiest | Lowest |
Options | You provide options – Is it 1, 2 or 3? | Harder | Medium |
Open | Questions starting with how, when, where, who, what, why | Most difficult | Highest |
Questioning Process:
In most instances, you should begin with an “open” question first. Then move onto an “options” question and finally a “closed” question.
Example
Open Question: What is your company revenue?
Options Question: Is your revenue between $5M – $10M; $10M – $25M; or $25M+?
Closed Question: Is your revenue between $10M – $25M?
Open vs. Closed – What’s the Difference?
Asking closed questions can have the following impact:
- The customer disengages quickly due to 1 word answers
- Low quality and low quantity answers
- You, as the sales rep, land up talking more than they do
- You can sound “scripted”
- The question could elicit a defensive response.
3 types of questions:
Closed Question | Open Question | Difference |
---|---|---|
Are you involved in the decision making process? | What role do you play in the decision making process? | The closed question could cause a defensive reaction. |
Do you have a budget? | What is the budgeting process? | You will typically get “no” as an answer to this closed question. |
Are there any hurdles standing in our way of doing business together? | What hurdles lay in our way of us doing business together? | Again, you will typically get “no” as an answer and you will have to ask another question to dig deeper. |
Do you understand the benefits? | What benefit resonate the most for you? | It is more meaningful and valuable for someone to state their interpretation of the benefits you offer. |