Have you ever been in a closing situation that seems to have stalled, where your prospect isn’t really objecting, but they sure aren’t going where you want them to go? If so, then you may find it necessary to re-open the close, so to speak, so you can get your prospect talking to find out exactly what they’re thinking and where they might be leaning.
This is especially true when you’re not sure how to respond to an objection or to how your prospect or client feels about a specific point or feature you just brought up. At times like these, all you need to do is just ask a question and let your prospect tell you which direction you need to go.
Revealing Answers
Use the following questions to help open your prospect up and to get them to reveal where they really stand, and what you need to do to move closer to the sale:
- ‘I can tell that’s important to you; why does it mean so much?’
- ‘You know, I’ve given you a lot of information, do you mind if I ask you what you think so far?’
- ‘I understand that you need to (talk to someone, check on something, or any other stall), but let me ask you: Based on what we’ve gone over so far, what do YOU think?’
- ‘Let me see if I have this right. You (restate what they said), right? What would have to change for this to work for you then?’
- ‘Do I have that right?’
- ‘What else do I need to know to understand how this affects your operation?’
- ‘How would you react if I told you we could handle that and give you this?’
- ‘Can you give me more detail on that?’
- ‘What is your perspective on this?’
- ‘Just out of curiosity, why do you feel that way?’
- ‘What is your experience with this (solution)?’
- ‘When was the last time you tried this?’
- ‘What happened the last time you took a solution like this to your boss?’
- ‘What would have made it work better for you?’
- ‘If you went ahead with this, what would be the worst thing that could happen?’
- ‘I hear you saying X, but I’m also hearing something else. Could you elaborate on that please?’
- ‘And if you didn’t move on this solution today, how are you going to change your results and get more (leads, sales, production, etc.)?’
- ‘Do you see how this (your solution) has been designed to fix your exact problem?’
- ‘How is this sounding so far?’
- ‘If you had to make a decision right now, what would it be?’
- ‘And what would change that for you?’
Implement today
If you found these questions helpful, then it’s time to write some of your own. Make them specific to your product or service, and write them so you’d be comfortable asking them. But then use them! If you’re a manager, this is a great exercise for a sales meeting. You could do two: one for prospecting and one for the close.
Bottom line is that your prospects and clients always have the answers to why they will or won’t buy from you. If you’re not asking questions and getting them to tell you, then you’re probably pitching and talking past the close. And you already know where that gets you.
