| p>Do you already know that open questions are an | | | | Paxman and other political journalists). |
| important tool for finding out what your prospect is | | | | A powerful use of 'why' is a one-off shot in response |
| looking for, and his or her motivations? It's a point to | | | | to a customer saying, 'I don't like . . . '(some feature or |
| master in order to become a great 'sales interviewer'. | | | | another model etc.). Just ask, 'Why?' |
| Two words work significantly better than the ones | | | | 'Who' has a natural application for discovering the |
| you usually find listed in sales-training books. Typically | | | | decision maker(s) involved in buying within the |
| what you will see are all the 'w' words - that is, 'what', | | | | prospect's company. You can ask, 'Who else would |
| 'which', 'where', 'who' and 'why'. But only two of those | | | | be involved in the decision?' |
| are really good and one of them is dangerous if you | | | | I've left the other great one to last; 'How', a word that |
| aren't careful. | | | | works very well together with 'What'. |
| 'What' is excellent. Here are some typical questions | | | | An example: |
| you can use it to begin: | | | | 'What do you want to do with this equipment?' |
| What do you want to do with (this item, equipment | | | | Customer replies and you continue; |
| etc.)? | | | | 'How did you handle this issue before?' |
| What are your priorities? | | | | 'What happened?' |
| What matters to you most? | | | | 'How did you deal with that?' |
| What time-scale do you have? | | | | What do you see as the main problem? |
| What do you like about . . .? | | | | 'How are you planning to tackle it in the future?' |
| 'Which' and 'Where' got a free ride along with the | | | | And so on. |
| more powerful words, those two are usable but not | | | | 'What' and 'How' give you an almost instant sales |
| outstanding. | | | | interview and find out the buyer's motivations in an |
| 'Why' has to be used with discretion. Anything more | | | | effective, un-pressured way. They have a happy |
| than two or three 'why s' in an interview comes | | | | relationship with one another. |
| across as rather aggressive, that is the last thing that a | | | | I suggest you get acquainted. |
| sales-interview should be. (Leave that to Jeremy | | | | |