Don’t sell widgets, ask QUESTIONS

“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers”

~ Robert Half

You read everywhere that in order to become a super star sales pro, you should ask great questions.  That hasn’t changed.  I am going to share an exercise in asking terrific questions for the aspiring or veteran sales person. 

Put everything you've learned and morph into a new dimension of “equal business stature”.  What I mean by that is instead of being programmed to do feature and benefit dumps, you should start thinking of yourself as a professional that asks real business questions.   This exercise is shared so that if you try it, you may “get it”.

If you’ve read my other blogs, you will be familiar with a consistent theme:  

• It is EASIER to sell to organizations when you understand issues that your product or service can solve
• Start as high in the organization as possible
• Ask great questions.  

If you are solely interested in selling widgets today, then this may not be the best sales Blog for you to be reading. 

If you're still with me, then that’s great!  That may mean that you want to L-E-A-R-N!  Being keen to read is second to wanting to A-S-K great questions!  I will try to explain the “jargon” and why they matter.  


Let's start out with an exercise so you can start applying what you are learning:  Write down these questions in a manner that suits your own unique style so that you are comfortable.  Try  them with your partner or room mate.  Not a colleague because that defeats the purpose -- they have a head start in understanding you.  Rotate between asking and then answering each  questions.  Convey in normal language.  You should avoid jargon, acronyms or  gibberish (because sales lingo to some seems so).  If you stumble, that is ok.  With practice, it will soon become natural and fall smoothly from your tongue.  If your partner looks at you as if you’ve started speaking in a foreign language, that’s ok.  They didn’t fall asleep did they?

1. What is your value proposition?  Hold it!  Before you pick up the phone or meet with an executive or decision maker, you better know this.  Why do customers need your product?  The best way to be able to answer this is to interview to understand why your best customers buys your product or service.  Use their words, believe them, they’re paying for you to.  Even the most vocal (some may call worst) give the the best feedback.
2. Does your product address a viable market?  Pretty simple.  No?    Look at it this way:  it is far easier to sell to  those circles that your best customers move in – i.e. their industry.  Look up their web site, read their Press Releases, who are their partners and why?  What projects or initiatives are critical to their business?  What issue(s) do you solve?  How is your product/service solving a niche in that business?  Let your competitors do feature dumps while you position yourself as the "go to guy/gal" because you understand who they are, what outside influences are impacting their industry?
3. What differentiates your product/service/company from the competition?  Sorry, I’m going to have to send you to the corner if you start spewing features and benefits.  There must be a reason you have customers otherwise you wouldn’t have a job to begin with.   Look, you know why you’re priced a certain way, manufactured to meet a particular need.  Do your homework.  Speak to the folks in research and development, question marketing on what the key message is?  Someone, somewhere did a lot of research to launch it, so why not ask them?  Offer to buy them a coffee or green tea because you want to "pick their brain".  Mentally excuse them politely when they are amazed that a sales person is actually interested!  
4. How does your business scale?   “Scalable businesses are those that can produce the next widget at a fraction of the cost.”   Here, you are conveying a deeper understanding of what you are selling.  Why not ask existing customers what makes them special, what went into their success?  Often it could even evolve into sharing what some of the problems they encountered while building their business. This is not permission to burden your audience with techno mumbo jumbo!   What does that have to do with sales?   Go directly to sell widgets based on price.
5. How committed are you?  Do you recognize an issue that your product or service solves?  Do you understand how you go beyond just selling it to ensuring that any implementation or execution has the right team on board?  Do you clock out at 5 and have your people call their people?  Does your management support your efforts even when they appear unusual because they are solving your customers needs .. which may require more resources (this is where you have to convince them in a business case how it is going to pay dividends -- their language).  The higher up you are, the better your audience can smell commission breath.   If you don’t believe me, ask them why they are so committed to the current incumbent who was on call 24/7, weekends, evenings, brought donuts (whatever) while everyone on both teams were working around the clock to meet a deadline?  You won’t need me to tell you that you can wave the best price or incentive in front of a customer who has had exceptional commitment and service.  What you will discover is they won’t budge or consider your sales “pitch”.  If you do run across this type of situation, do NOT knock your competitor!  Admire them for having the insight and integrity to ensure their commitments are made beyond the customer's expectations.
6. What are your strengths?  You, your organization, product or service has made it this far so why is that?   You have customers who buy, why do they?  Yes, many will buy strictly on price – nix them (yes, you are cancelling membership in the "sell widgets or price point" association).  Find out why some customers switched from a competitor to you.   Has your organization had to about face, change solution at the last minute based on a customer need, industry change, Government regulations?   Well then, you’ve just shown an example of how “flexible you are to meet your customers ongoing demands.”  That is a strength …  isn’t it?
7. What are your weaknesses?  If you don’t think you have any, proceed to selling widgets based on price in "The Half Price Club".  Seriously, this is where you have to be R-E-A-L-I-S-T-I-C.   Granted, we all like to be proud of whom we work for and what we do.  Yet even the APPLES of the world understand what they’re good at and what they stay away from.   “Stick to what you know and find trusted partners to handle the rest”.  A customer will appreciate honesty and not think of it as a weakness.  You can share with them at what point you stop and another service/product has to step in.  The secret here is to offer them knowledge and the option to go that route themselves or you do it for them, at a markup.  (They’re businesspeople, they “get it” that there is a cost to doing business).  The best sales pros recognize that there is more work, perhaps they don’t even get compensated for it, but in the long run it pays off if they or their team oversee completion.  It shouldn’t be surprising when a customer is prepared to pay for a markup when they’ve established trust with YOU!
8. What price are your customers willing to pay?  Straight out.  Ask what the budget is.  What are they comparing your product or service to?   I’m not suggesting you unprofessionally ask them to divulge what the competitor is offering so you can “match”.  That’s kind of tacky don’t you agree?  The gem is asking this question at the outset.  When the customer is making their needs known and you are being asked to present your proposal.  Don’t be asking it when you think the ship is sinking and you may be losing the deal.   You will lose credibility quickly.   If you’re sunk, then ask why they chose that direction.  Suck it up.  Class is what you’ll need at this point.  Take it as a valuable lesson to understand for the next time.  Unless you quit, there will be a next time.

I will be sharing more great questions to ask on your next executive sales call in future Blogposts.  First, let me know by commenting, if you liked this exercise, tried it, and see how differently you position yourself ... or making sales calls without dumping features, sales or screaming deals.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

~ Sir Winston Churchill