Search:

Telling Isn't Selling

As anyone who has been on any of my workshops will know, I do not think any salesperson will survive in the current business climate unless they perfect the art of ‘Conversational Questioning’ It is such an important skill and one that is often forgotten as salespeople allow themselves to slip into ‘Telling Mode’.

Questions not only keep your prospect customer involved and interested, they allow you to obtain a much clearer understanding of their real needs. This in turn allows you to shape your sales propositions to meet those needs far better than your competitors.

It is important to remember not to let the meeting turn into an interrogation. Simply keep your focus on asking quality questions throughout the discussion.

Questioning strategies can be used at any stage in the sales process, however the challenge to any salesperson is to remember this and use this skill in ALL of their sales calls.

Most salespeople will tell you that they do not like sales scripts and would never use them. However I have worked with many salespeople who subconsciously have developed sales scripts through repeatedly telling their customers what they could do for them.

There are many different types of question to prevent you from becoming monotonously inquisitive, See my article on Selling Questions) use them to help keep your customer interested in you.

Use ‘Safety Nets’ when asking sensitive questions "Do you mind if I ask who else will be quoting for the business?" - you are asking their permission to ask the question, before asking a question that may offend.

As the heading of this article suggests, ‘Telling isn’t Selling’ - and you can ask anyone who told you!

Additional Articles From - Home | Careers

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email to Friends
	Ezine Ready

Sitemap | Articles | Resources | Additional Recommended Links