Learn with Questions

Art Sobczak shares a great example of one of my favorite techniques:

THIS WEEK'S TIP:
Question Like This TV Detective

Greetings!

I'm fascinated by other professions that
use the skills and techniques we also
employ as sales pros. Police detectives,
for examples.

And while it was just a TV show, a much-
studied and quoted TV detective was Columbo,
from the series of the same name in the 70's.

Columbo was a master at getting his subjects
to open up and share abundant information.
He'd often feign confusion and apologize
for not being as smart as his interviewee,
therefore prompting them to explain details
and timelines in clearer terms.

We can do the same, by simply saying,
"What do you mean by that?"

For example,

Prospect: "We are in the process of
exploring options for generating more
qualified leads for our sales staff."

Sales Rep: "Oh, what do you mean by that?"

Prospect: "We were finding that our reps
were ignoring leads since most of them were
just looking for free information. So, now,
we are looking at putting more qualifiers
in the web form."

Sales Rep: "Oh?"

Prospect: "Yes, what we need to do is..."

See how much more info you get by just
letting them explain what they mean? Many
reps would have jumped in after the
prospect's first comment with,

"Well let me tell you how we can do that!"

Perhaps the technique Columbo was most famous
for was the "Just one more question..." He'd
give the impression that the interview was
over, begin walking toward the door, then
turn around and say,

"Let me ask just one more question..." (By the
way, I found a short video clip on YouTube of
Columbo getting ready to use this technique,
but his subject would have none of it. See
that at my blog, http://www.TeleSalesBlog.com)

This would catch his subjects off-guard,
getting them to say things they might not
have earlier. Now, I'm not a believer
in trying to trick anyone into anything.
But, you might consider making it a policy
to always ask one more question to ensure
that you are not jumping in too early.

Let's explore this again, in action:

Prospect: "We often need to place orders
after our East coast supplier has closed
for the day."

Rambling Rep: "Oh, we stay open until
8:00 p.m. your time!"


Better add-on: "What do you mean?" question:
"What do you do mean by that?

Follow-up questions: "What do you do in
those situations?"

"What other implications does that cause?"

Then you can really get them in a feeling-
the-pain state of mind by getting them to
attach a specific cost to problems or needs
they have.

Here are questions using other examples,

"Tell me Joan, what do you feel it's costing
you to have your staff sort and seal those
envelopes by hand?"

"Frank, about how much per year would you
say you spend on copier machine maintenance?"

"Can you estimate how much business you're
losing because you aren't contacting your
smaller accounts?"

Adding the additional questions helps you to
put them in a better, more receptive frame of
mind to hear about your solutions. And, once
you've discovered what the problem means to them,
in monetary terms, you are better-prepared to
position the benefits and price of your
products and services.

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