Module 2: Probing & Discovery

Housekeeping Webinar: – – If you are here today, you are good! Facebook: – – Join the group – Very interactive – Not a support portal Support: – Schedule Your 1 Role Playing Call With Me: – – Whichever Module You Prefer

Modules DateTopic Mar 9Kick Off Mar 16Prospecting, Gatekeepers, and Pre-Qualification Mar 23Probing & Discovery Mar 30Identify Needs Apr 6Build Problem Apr 13Present Solution Apr 20Close Sales Apr 27Objection Handling May 4Wrap Up

Prospecting Cold calls Referrals Content Networking Webinars Seminars Social networking Foot prospecting Advertising

Ask Yourself? How are you going to achieve your higher revenue goals next year? How will you get your clients to spend more money? How will you and your company make up for the accounts you lost this year?

False Belief #1 You think the way to keep your customers happy is by avoiding ruffling their feathers with tough, uncomfortable questions

Truth Your clients can’t solve their problems if they don’t acknowledge them.

False Belief #2 Your customer has had too many fires to put out this year.

Truth They’ve had little if any time to constructively think through their challenges and what steps need to be taken to achieve next year’s goals.

You And that’s where you come in, by helping them to see the bigger picture.

Strong Questions You know these tough, probing sales questions are important, but maybe you’ve been holding back from asking them because they can: – Be imposing. – Be intrusive. – Be uncomfortable. – Take away your selling time. You may even be a little afraid to hear your client’s answers

Building Up Asking probing questions can be the building blocks to providing your clients with the best solutions to their problems, because these probing questions will help you to: – Build rapport with your clients. – Understand your customers’ needs. – Illuminate your customers’ hidden needs and wants. – Look for information from your clients. – Direct the conversation. – Increase your customer’s comfort zone. – Name your customers’ fears to help conquer them. – Galvanize customers’ emotions so they’ll take action, with your help.

Sample Sales Questions Note that the following sales questions get more complex as you go along. – “What are your goals for next year compared with this year? – “In what ways are you going to capitalize on this year’s success to ensure even greater success next year?” – “With 2015 around the corner, what do you think you’ll do more of/less of/just plain differently?” – “In what ways can we ensure/change/do more of…to ensure your continuing success?” – “What is it that you value most about doing business with us (me)?” – “What do you feel we are (I am) doing right to sustain our business relationship?” – “In what ways are we (am I) helping you to achieve your goals?” – “In what ways can we (I) improve?” – “What changes do we (I) need to make to ensure greater success?” – “If you could change one thing about our relationship, what would it be?” – “What goals would you like to see us (me) accomplish with you in the next 12 months?” – “How can we (I) make your job easier?” – “Would you be willing to serve as a reference for my product or company? If so, can you elaborate on what you would say about us? If not, why not?” – “What will it take on our (my) part to win that portion of the business you are currently giving to our competition?”

Establish Rapport Your prospective customer has one of these four concerns on her mind: – “How are you going to minimize my fears?” – “How are you going to enhance my standing in my organization?” – “How are you going to save me money? Or make me money?” – “How are you going to make my life easier?”

So how do you identify a pain point? Rule number one: – Don't be a crocodile. Too many sales reps use what I refer to as a "tell and sell" approach. They walk into customer meetings with pre- canned sales decks and proudly squawk through 30 of their favorite slides without engaging the customer in a discussion. I call them crocodile salespeople, because they have small ears and big mouths.

So where's the happy medium? The best sales meetings are discussions. The goal is to get customers speaking about their organizations. And the best way to do so is by asking open- ended questions. There is an art to teasing out pain points.

Where to Start? I recommend starting with a brief overview of you, your company, and your solution. And by brief, I mean BRIEF! You’d be amazed at how long some people rattle on about their life stories in an introduction. Nobody wants to hear your life story other than your mom.

What’s Next? I recommend offering up some examples of clients you’ve worked with (you obviously need their approval first). These references make for great discussions with customers. If you have enough references in your arsenal, you obviously want to pick out ones that you believe will resonate with your prospect due to job function or industry

And then there’s the key transition slide Gives you the ability to tease out the problem having just shown similar cases where customers have this problem. For example: “What we find is that many of our customers have been spending money on forms of marketing that no longer work”

Important

Homework Local Sales Automation – Complete Modules 3 & 4 – Post homework in Facebook group Buddy up and practice pre-qual call

Questions