The power of using ‘open-ended’ questions

Are your salespeople underestimating the power of asking ‘open-ended’ questions? Do they sound like they are interrogating potential or existing clients?

Many business leaders and sales managers know what they ‘want’ their salespeople to sound like when they are on the phone to a prospective or existing client, but don’t always know ‘how’ to help them. With this in mind, I have shared some examples below of open questions that your salespeople can adapt to help them have more conversations rather than interrogations.

Author: Gary Morgan

As a reminder, open-ended questions normally start with words such as how, when, what, who and why.

How

How do you see this product or service improving your business? How can we make our product/service best fit your needs?

When

When you do you plan to make a decision? When does your current contract expire? When can I contact you to follow up?

What

What is your budget? What are the terms of your current contract or service agreement? What specifications do you need from this product or service? What do you see as the main obstacle preventing you from making a purchasing decision?

Who

Who is your current provider for this product or service? Who else are you considering for this contract?

Why

Why did you choose your current provider? Why are you looking for a new provider?

N.B. Make sure that your sales people use a soft tone when asking ‘why’ questions, otherwise they can sound like they are interrogating.

Using open questions is a powerful sales tool that will lead to increased sales conversions. They will also enable your sales people to have conversations instead of interrogations. Finally, when they use open questions, they will get more information in a shorter space of time which is good for both them and the person they are selling to.

If you would like me to help your sales team to use powerful open questions, then please contact me Gary Morgan on 020 8337 5937 or send an email to gary@garymorgan.coach

Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Gary.

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