We have talked about open ended questioning and its power. What we haven't recalled dove into are the why's and what's and how's! Questions that require yes and no answers require minimal thought. This doesn't mean to presume that our customers aren't intelligent. What this means is saying yes or no many times is just a knee jerk response. A normal response. Just take for example our children. We ask them to do something and we get an immediate NO! But if instead of saying clean your room you said how could you clean your room and make mommy and daddy proud?? This makes them think about their answer and making us proud. When we ask our customers about their goals, initiatives, challenges, strengths and we fill the question with assumptions and ask that dreadful yes or no question we could get a knee jerk response or an otherwise non-detailed response. If we put some thought into the question we might get a surprisingly fact filled long answer of which we can utilize to help our customer build confidence that OUR solution is the better choice. Another item to note here is when you ask open ended tough questions it sets you aside from the crowd. It's like sending a postcard to a customer at Christmas time. They might get the card and say jeez another card from Shawn or that was nice of him or why does this guy send these cards every year I haven't bought anything from him in years. But whatever reaction you are leaving an impression and leaving a small note in their minds. It is the same with great, never before been asked, open ended questions. Customers remember who took the time to find out all of the details of a project to earn business. Trust me on this one that these advice tips work and have been proven. They have been used on me many times and now I take notice of them when I am being solution sold when I buy stuff.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas!
Happy New Year!
Shawn
SR@ShawnCReilly.com
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