When most professionals think of sales scripts, thoughts start running wild of how you will “convince” someone to invest in your product or service. This often puts people in a constant state of paralysis to learn as many of the products or features so they won’t get stumped when the customer asks a question.
Instead of learning countless (and futile) details about what you are selling, I invite you to consider a different approach. This approach won’t have you going to meetings to find out the smallest details of your competition compared with your company because none of that is necessary when you want to close serious business!
The reality is you can’t “sell” anybody anything they don’t really need or want. Even when you do accomplish the feat of selling ice to Eskimos it’s highly unlikely they will ever be very happy with your product. Consider the following three methods to asking powerful questions that will get you the appointment every time.
Question 1 – Getting Your First Yes
In order to get your foot in the door (or to even get the customer to come to you) requires that you get put the customer at ease with simple questions that they would be crazy not to agree with. For example, if you were selling copiers, then your first question to a small business owner might be: “Are you currently using a copier in your office?”.
With the needs of most any sized business, this is a definite yes. Even offices with 1-2 people have a small copier. Regardless of your industry, your first question just needs to be an obvious one that doesn’t really qualify the prospect, but rather get’s them in the mode of agreeing with you.
Getting your first “yes” is key to getting starting your conversation off right and putting you in control as the interviewer.
Question 2 – Transition and Getting Your 2nd Yes
Most professionals whether they are selling products or services ask only a single question and then go into “pitch” mode about what they are selling. This is a sure fire way to get your prospect to stop listening and might even have you listening to a dial tone. To get closer to an appointment requires asking yet another question where you will get a “yes” over 90% of the time.
For example, to use the copier example again, your second question and transition would look like “That’s great that you have a copier currently in your office. Would it help your business if you could save 15% monthly on your expenses?”.
A business owner who doesn’t want to save money is a waste of your time. This 2nd question should yield a 100% success rate for those that are worthy of your third question.
Question 3 – Getting a No
It is important not to get too anxious at this point as your third question is where the rubber meets the road. (Note that you still haven’t mentioned your product or service, no pitching!) Your third question should result in a “no” which will give you the opportunity to provide value.
To continue with the copier example, you could ask “That’s great, since saving money would help you, has anyone ever taken the time to look at all of your expenses to see how you could save money monthly?”
For 85%+ of business owners this would be a resounding “no”. Even their accountant barely looks at what they do each month. Take special attention that you still haven’t mentioned that you do copiers yet as it really isn’t that important to getting the appointment.
Provide Value
Now, that you have received “no”, it is time to offer value. It’s a simple transition that will get you an appointment every time. Your transition, works like the following.
“Since you are interested in saving money, and no one has taken the time to do that for you, I would be happy to come in and spend just 40 minutes to see how I could help to save you money. Would a Tuesday at 3pm work better or maybe a Thursday at 10am?”
Regardless of whether you are selling copiers, real estate, or even a service, following this format will get you more appointments from your calls. When you would like to discover how to use powerful questions in your business I invite you to take advantage of my free 5 day course on Questions That Sell.