If you have ever had an opportunity stall for X months when your prospect tells you of some new board/procedure/process, you’ll know that having a good knowledge of their buying process is vital in helping you plan actions, forecast close and provide the appropriate support to your sponsor. Here are a few ways to ask your prospect about their processes.
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Here are a few direct and indirect questions to be used as a starting point for attacking an incumbent vendor / current solution.
• How do you feel about (incumbent vendor)?
• What do you like/dislike about company / product?
• What would you like to improve upon?
• How could it be better?
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Over on the LinkedIn Solution Selling Alumni group Tim Sullivan asked “Solution Selling includes a structured dialogue model for consultative, diagnostic conversations with customers, called the 9-Block Vision Processing Model. Have you used the 9-Block, and did you find it effective?”

I couldn’t wait to give “my 2 cents” on this one:
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I think it’s fair to say that our jobs as sales professionals are as much about deciding who not to sell to as who to sell to. Qualifying-out the tyre kickers is a great time saver. These questions will help you do that. Crucial in this is attempting to identify whether there is a genuine pain driving their enquiry (if there is not, the opportunity is likely to drop out towards the end of the sales cycle when risk and spending money come into serous consideration)
• Why do this now? Why not next month, or next year?
• What happens if you DON’T (solve this issue)?
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Here are a few of my favourite sales questions for uncovering prospects’ issues. Some more direct than others. Enjoy!
• How have things changed in company/industry in the last few years/ months?
• (If they tell you about a recent project or initiative) What do you think are the biggest “lessons learned” from this project? How would you do things differently? With the benefit of hindsight how would you run such a project again, if you had to?
• What are the biggest developments in the industry? How are you keeping up with that? What do you think that will look like in the future?
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If, before a sales call, you were to write down all the questions, all the areas to cover as suggested by sales training and books, you would have a very long list. The list would cover every aspect leading you theoretically, logically to a successful conclusion.

It makes sense, but when you actually pick up that phone or meet that person, reality rudely interrupts the theory.There is simply not enough time to cover every base, investigate every pain/problem. Your prospect doesn’t have the time to follow the theory.
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• How can I as a salesperson best access your intimate knowledge of your situation?
• How can I make you feel important and listened to?
• How can I avoid just pitching you what I think is best for you (and instead pitching the appropriate solution)?
• When I ask you a question, who is controlling the conversation, you or me?
• Who is exerting influence on whose mind?
• Do I need to draw you a picture?

Over the next few months I’ll be listing my favourite sales questions for you to use in your selling. Bookmark/RSS SalesItch now….