David Sandler always taught that you
should never ask a question, make a statement, or behave in any way
unless it is in your best selling interest to do so for the sale. He
also taught that, as a general rule, a good sales discussion is one
in which the prospect does the talking 70% of the time.
With both of these principles in
mind, consider this question: How are you supposed to get your
prospect to talk 70% of the time? Here's one answer: Know when to
answer a question with a question, and then stop talking. In other
words, act like a dummy - on purpose.
You must learn to be brave enough to
ask the "dummy question." Then wait out the silence!
For instance:
Prospect: I have to tell you: Your
competition's price is a lot better than yours is.
You: Okay. Is it over? (Now wait out
the silence!)
If remaining quiet in such a
situation makes you feel uncomfortable or unprofessional, it
shouldn't. Consider your relationship with your family doctor.
Doctors are some of the best "answer a question with a question"
practitioners on earth. Your doctor will often answer a question
with a question - and when she does, you may be quite sure she will
wait until she gets a straight answer from you before she recommends
a course of treatment!
What happens when you arrive at your
doctor's office complaining of a sore shoulder? After listening to
your complaint, does the doctor simply accept your diagnosis? No.
She asks you a series of questions ... and then waits for your
response. It would be hard to be confident in a doctor who asked a
patient a question, then nervously filled in the silence by changing
the subject before getting an answer.
For another example of this "dummy"
technique, consider the old television show Columbo. Maybe you've
seen the show. The detective is almost out the door ... then he
stops for one more question, a "dumb" question that he apologizes
for even asking. He waits for the answer. After a series of
seemingly "dumb" questions, Columbo has the guilty pretty much
trapped. Another successful "dummy!"
"Is it over?" is a classic "dummy"
question. The answer to "Is it over?" will, if you wait for it, tell
you precisely what is happening in the relationship, and will often
lead you toward what you need to do next to regain your footing.
Sometimes, though, we ask the
opposite of "dummy" questions, questions that are too smart for our
own good. For instance: "Did you take into account all nine
equipment categories covered by our service plan when you decided
that we were more expensive than the competition?" It's easy for
salespeople to go down this road when they've been selling for a
while and know a whole lot about the features of their product or
service. They're so proud of their knowledge that they can't wait to
share it with anyone who will listen.
This brings us to one of the ironies
of our profession. Back when we began our career, we asked prospects
more "dumb" questions. Then, as the years went by, we got more and
more certain that we knew what we were doing, and absorbed more
product knowledge that we just knew we had to share with our
prospects - somehow.
If we're not careful, our product
knowledge, and our certainty that we know exactly what to say and do
next, can overwhelm our own process, and we may stop asking "dumb"
questions. Typically when this happens, we start doing more of the
talking in the sales meeting!
If we're lucky, we will learn to ask
questions like a dummy again - and get back to the job of spending
most of our time listening to the prospect.
That's the best way to make a medical
diagnosis ... the best way to crack a tough criminal case ... and,
eventually, the best way to forge a business relationship.
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Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights
reserved.
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