Have you ever asked a question to someone in the hopes that they would just answer it straight up but they just asked another question to you? Have you ever added a negative element to the questions you’ve asked?
A lot of the time when we engage in sales talks, we should remeber to be asking these types of questions in these fashions. There are two types of reverses that we need to be using when we go into any sales conversations. These are inquisitive and negative reverses. These inquisitive questions are essentially answering a question with a question. For example, let’s say I am in a sales conversation selling window cleaning supplies and the prospect states “why would I go with you over your competitor?” Your response could be “What are some of the things that are most important for you that you would like to get taken care of?” Being able to ask a question like this is super important because it lets you control the narrative of the conversation while leading where you would like it to go.
The next type of question that is critical to ask is a question that illicits a negative reverse. For example, asking the question of “I don’t suppose that is something that you’re interested in, is it?” This puts the prospect in the position of having to really think about what is important for them. You don’t want the prospect thinking about a ton of ideas of what COULD be important for them but rather what IS important to them and so being able to ask questions like this is going to help you narrow down what they find important and what they don’t find important while also helping them unintentionally rank the level of each pain issue that they have in their lives.
RMcIlwain
Andrew, I thought you explained inquisitive and negative reverses really clearly here. I liked how you showed how these types of questions help guide the conversation without forcing anything on the prospect. It’s a smart way to keep control while still making the client feel heard and involved. Your example about narrowing down what’s truly important to them was a really good reminder of how powerful the right question can be.