I was invited last week to be a guest lecturer at UT-Southern – a satellite campus for the University of Tennessee – located in the town of Pulaski. It’s a quaint campus about a 60-mile drive south from where I live.
This was my third visit to the campus, and this time, I was speaking to an upper-level entrepreneurship class (note: every student in the class had a business they were planning to launch upon graduation… and two had already started them – an impressive group!)
One of the ‘lessons learned’ that I shared with them was that if you are the business owner… then you’re in sales! No exceptions. Selling to customers, employees, future employees, bankers, investors, etc. And if you’re not comfortable selling… get comfortable. Take classes. Read books. Attend webinars and workshops. Learn the skills that will help you to become comfortable.
During the Q&A afterward, one of the students asked me, “What’s the number one tip you’d give us to get better at sales?” And without hesitation I answered, “Ask more questions!”
Here’s why. Too many salespeople are so excited to be in front of a potential buyer (in the room or in the zoom), that they just start blathering on about what they do. Without any regard for what the buyer wants, needs or is interested in.
Asking questions eliminates that. Ask questions about the buyer’s role, their team, their company, their industry, their competitors, the challenges they’re facing, what’s going on with their current supplier, and so on. Then, when the buyer answers, ask more questions. Drill down. Get to the root cause of what’s really going on there.
Then – and only then – should you talk. But now, having let the buyer do most of the talking, you’ll know exactly what to talk about because you’ll be addressing their specific challenges… going down the path of helping them solve the problem(s) that matters most to them.
Also, asking questions, then listening attentively to the responses and taking notes, shows a buyer that you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say. And that goes a long way toward building rapport and a trust-based relationship. Plus, nobody wants to be around a salesperson who just talks… and talks… and talks.
Asking questions can also help you to get to know your clients and prospects on a personal level and maybe find some shared experiences. Try this… if you’re having a sales call this Friday, as you’re wrapping up, ask the buyer, “Whatcha doin’ this weekend?” You can learn a lot about a person this way.
Conclusion
Ask 10 sales trainers for their best ‘sales tip’ and you’ll likely get 10 different answers. But for my money, asking good, smart questions leads the way to developing better relationships and recommending more effective solutions for your client. I’d call that a win-win.
That’s my top sales tip… what’s yours?