asking all the right questions

Have you ever pondered and asked yourself "what is the meaning of life?" How far have you got with that question? I remember as a kid, climbing up on to a grassy hill, lying flat on my back and looking up into the sky, watching the cloud formations drift slowly by... I gave up "pondering" the question a long time ago, becasue I realized the futility of asking such a question. Is there really an answer?Did you ever think that maybe there is no answer?Did you ever think that maybe it's the wrong question?How about if you rephrased your question and asked, "What would give my life meaning"?Ah ha! Puts a different perspective on things doesn't it? Now we've have taken a seemingly unanswerablequestion and given it a multitude of answers! Now instead of being "stuck", searching for an answer that seems to alude us, we now have freedom, the freedom to let our imagination and dreams take us where ever we want to go!So, you are probably asking yourself, "Kevin, how does this apply to me closing more sales and building my business?"Have you ever been "stuck" with a prospect or a customer? Maybe you are asking the wrong kinds of questions...when I sit down with a prospect or a client he or she may not realize the impact his or her problems are having on their business. We want to explore the implications of our prospects or clients in not taking any actions to solve their problems.There is a process for doing this. I call it layering questions.For instance, my main question I always begin my presentation with is: "I'm just curious, Bob--what do you see as being some of the biggest challenges for your sales team right now?"His response might be, "Being proactive in getting new business."What then?With our client we need to explore the implications of his or her sales staff's not being proactive enough in getting new business.In order to create even more value in our client's mind, we need to thoroughly understand the impact this will have on his or her business and build on the original question by layering. The way I do this is to ask further questions about what effect that (not being proactive or cold calling) has on their business right now in terms of sales.* By the way, how fast is your industry growing right now?
* How proactive are your competitors in soliciting new business?
* How is this affecting your market share?This makes the client think. If my people are not being proactive, my competitors' salespeople are. That means my competitor is getting my business!When you ask the right questions and layer them, it gives you an opportunity to really give your clients a different perspective on what the cost of doing nothing to solve their problem really is.Would you like to read more blog articles on improving your sales and marketing techniques?

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