Sales and Marketing Training | How to Ask Sales Question Effectively?

Of course, most salespeople ask questions—but what is the quality, the range, and the impact of those questions?

Sales questions are critical. Begin by planning the questions you will ask. If you are not sure what questions to ask, check with a manager, a colleague, or a specialist.

How you ask questions is as important as what you ask. Asking questions effectively takes skill, discipline, knowledge, and confidence. You don’t want to sound like a prosecuting attorney.

As you develop your questions, think about the structure, the pace, and the tactics you will use to get your customers to talk and open up.

How you phrase, position, and sequence your questions will have an impact on how willing your customer is to participate in the dialogue and what you are able to learn. Compare these two questions: “Who makes the decision?” and “Once you have reviewed this, what will your decision process involve?”

The first question will prompt a customer to give a short and possibly incomplete, misleading response. The second question, because it already recognizes the customer’s role, is likely to prompt a more accurate and informative reply. Preface your questions to encourage a robust dialogue. As a lead in to your questions, to motivate the customer to share information, preface with acknowledgment: for example, “I understand that it is time- consuming. How are you handling it now?”

For more sensitive or emotional situations, you can preface with empathy: for example, “I’m very sorry for the disruption this is causing. What happened?” You can also preface questions with a customer benefit, such as “So I can take the needs of the regions into consideration, how does the local …?” Trading is another excellent way to preface, by exchanging information: “Our specialists tell us there is a slowdown in …. How is that impacting your plans?”