In sales, it is important not to be too pushy and aggressive. It helps to first build rapport and to get the customer talking. As a salesperson, you must make the customer feel important and valued. One way to do this is by asking good questions and then listening with a genuine heart and intent to help the customer. This technique makes the sales process become more relationship based and feels less slimy and sales like to the customer. It also can help the salesman or saleswoman be able to better understand their customer and to make them feel more comfortable with you. It can give you a direct link to their pain points, and help you pitch to them in a way that fits their needs. Throughout this post I will give examples of good questioning techniques and quickly explain why they are helpful.
The first example is “what is holding you back from reaching your goals?”. This allows you to hear the possible problems of the customer or their company. It also gives you pain points to present to them and try to fix for them. It gives you a greater insight to their current situation and allows them to express their possible problems with their current business partner.
The second question to ask is “Given all we have discussed, if we were to move forward together, what would you hope that would look like?”. This allows the salesperson to get the customer forward thinking. They can envision a perfect scenario with you and allows you to adjust your sales pitch to them and hopefully lays out clear expectations if the two parties were to move on together. It also helps you move towards a more natural closing situation and leads you to that after all expectations have been laid out. It makes it way easier to ask for their business and both parties will know what to expect from each other.
BoweryJE22
We have talked in class so much about being a good listener not only in our personal lives but as a salesperson. Without it, you’re right, we would not build customer relationships or potentially close a sale!