A few years ago, shortly after launching my new website, I thoughtlessly picked up the phone as it rang. When the caller announced that he was from BIG Airlines, he quickly had my attention.
He had visited my entire website, was very impressed and also very interested in my training programs. The airline was going to be training their salespeople in the not too distant future and was evaluating the possibilities. When I asked who else he was looking at, he mentioned some big players in the industry. I was over the moon.
As we continued to talk, he asked dozens of questions about my proposition, delivery models, remote training options, learning reinforcement, and more. I answered each one in great detail. When he asked for a proposal, I asked, “How soon?” and quickly agreed to his two-day timeline.
The proposal I emailed him within two days included everything we had discussed in our conversation, plus a full range of pricing options. I never heard from BIG Airlines again – and it was my own fault.
In retrospect, I wrongly let my own eagerness to do business with this super client outweigh my common sense. I should have known better, but I was seduced by the opportunity.
Time and time again I see other salespeople make similar mistakes when they have a prospect on their radar who is ready to buy now. Like me, they explain their options and benefits. They are happy to provide detailed information and do a lot of extra work to create proposals or presentations – everything the prospects want.
While this puts you in the category of “nice” salespeople, it doesn’t help your potential customers make the best decision for their organization. It also doesn’t allow you to differentiate yourself from your competitors. You just come across as an overzealous ant. And most of the time, you don’t get the business.
That is why it is absolutely necessary to keep your common sense when interesting prospects contact you. What you need to do is: ask questions
It is good for you and your prospect to dig deep and ask the tough questions. It often feels awkward at first, especially if you feel like you are supposed to be ‘selling’. But in reality, that is exactly what you should be doing: helping potential customers make the best possible decision for their business.
Here are three questions you should ask, even if they feel uncomfortable:
Is your prospect 100% sure they’re going to change, or are they just trying to determine if it makes sense?
This is crucial in determining your next move. If they haven’t decided to proceed, your focus should be on the business case. If they have committed to proceed, the focus becomes differentiation.
What other options are they considering – and have they ever done business with any of these companies before?
If your prospect has an existing business relationship, make sure you investigate why they would consider changing relationships. It’s a lot more work for your prospect than if they stayed with the status quo. So there has to be a good reason to change suppliers or they’re unlikely to do business with you.
What are decision criteria – and why is each factor important?
Finding out what criteria they want to base their decision on will help a lot:
- Find out which aspects of your products and/or services should be emphasized;
- Determine your position relative to competitors;
- Try to discover any misconceptions about the best solution for them.
Plan these questions in advance. Do it before you speak to a real prospect who is ready to buy. You will also want to practice asking these questions out loud. Ultimately, asking the tough questions will help you better identify opportunities with potential and close more deals.
