In today’s edition, we explore one of the simplest but sadly most unused elements of sales, which, when done well, will make you into a sales superstar. It’s the point I talk about more than any other when I speak about sales, and it’s the most critical part of the sales process. Questions, and the way you ask them to uncover PAIN! Let’s get to it.
I saw an advert the other day from Cadbury’s. It’s Easter time, and so, for many kids around the world, this weekend is the time for Easter egg hunts.
The advert said, ‘better the hide, better the hunt’.
I was for a moment thinking about my nieces and nephews wandering around a garden looking for eggs and thought about the look on their faces when they find, from nowhere, an egg that was hidden but which is then theirs!
The joy and elation from finding something that was previously hidden is incredible for them, and it made me think about the power of the hunt in our sales conversations.
“The better the hide, the better the hunt” is the Cadbury slogan.
What the hell does that have to do with sales, you might be wondering?
Well, the same concept applies.
The feeling of uncovering the REAL pain with a prospect. The moment when, through effective, engaging and empathetic questioning, you get to the REAL pain or issue that a prospect has.
I always share in the sales training sessions that I run that kids are the best salespeople in many ways. They will continually dig and dig with their ‘why, why’ comments until eventually the parent gives in and explodes: ‘Because of this reason,’ and in that moment, the kid has reached the critical point.
Our sales conversations need to operate in similar ways. Not in an annoying, kid-like way, but in the way in which we probe, dig and find out information about what is REALLY going on in the mind of our prospects.
When we really find the pain that our prospects feel and really get inside their heads to know what they are really thinking, sales conversations become easier.
So how can you do that? How can you ask the questions on a call with someone you want to work with that really uncover their real pain?
I mentioned 3 E’s above and those traits are critical when it comes to finding out what really matters to the prospects you speak with.
1. Effective
The first element of finding out what matters is through effective questioning.
What do I mean by effective?
The questions we ask must be relevant and effective.
They must speak to the person.
They have to show we understand their world, their situation and circumstances.
The world has moved on and questions such as ‘What are your biggest pain points or challenges?’ don’t work anymore. Prospects want to feel like you know them. Even if you don’t. They want to feel like you understand the challenges they face, even if you aren’t directly in their shoes.
Start your questions with knowledge and insight.
‘I know from my research that some of the biggest challenges in your market space are x. How are you dealing with these?’
Or
‘When I talk to <insert their job role here>, they tell me that <problem x and problem y> are causing them some concern. How do these challenges affect you and the business?’
When you ask questions like this, you stand out from the crowd. You show yourself to not just be the same as others but someone who has tried to learn and understand the situation the other person is facing. That will buy you respect and
it will mean the prospect is open to sharing more.
When they respond and talk about these challenges, RESIST the urge to talk about you and your solution. Probe. Dig.
‘That sounds like a big issue, talk me through how that affects you and the business,’ or ‘This sounds difficult, what’s been the impact of not having that in place?’
Probing after effective questioning opens up the prospect to then share more and more, when done in an engaging way of course…
2. Engaging
How we ask the questions is always the clue to the answer we get. I wrote an article some time back about the hidden 10% and what that means to get deals done.
It’s about care. It’s about real consideration of the other person and their challenges, and not just about what you want. When you lean in, when you engage and when you ask questions in a way that shows the other person that you really care about them and the answers they give, then don’t be surprised when they start to open up more.
Lean in, show interest, and listen intently to what is shared with you. Engage with the other person and make them feel like, at that moment, they are the most important person in the world. Make them feel special. Make them feel like you do care. If you don’t, then it will show through, but when you really engage in a conversation and make the other person feel like they are being listened to, good things happen.
They start to trust you and when trust is there, they share more. They talk about the REAL issues and challenges because they don’t feel like you are a salesperson who will try to take advantage of them.
When we ask effective questions and engage in a positive and thoughtful way, prospects start to share more about their situation.
3. Empathetic
The final part of the question-to-pain discovery challenge is empathy. I think it’s the most important skill of all the ESI sales skills that I talk about. When you put yourself in the shoes of the prospect and REALLY start to think like them, then amazing things happen.
‘I get totally why, in your position, you would be sceptical about x. I mean, why would you care about Y and Z when your first focus is on xx?’
When you share those types of insights with the right voice tonality, which shows you have really understood what could be going on in the prospect’s world, then they start to believe you care. They start to think you aren’t the average, self-serving salesperson who wants to feather their own nest, but are someone who wants what’s best for them.
Someone who isn’t a salesperson, but a problem solver.
And this makes them share even more. They now respect you (effective), like you (engaging) and respect you (empathetic), and these 3 elements combined mean they open up to you. They share their hidden egg, which is the key to the deal.
If you can fix the problem, of course. That’s a topic for another separate email, but when you get to the bottom of the issue through great questions, you uncover real pain. You get to know what really matters and with that secret, you can plan your next sales approach.
Don’t be a smarmy salesperson, though, and undo all the good work you have done by quickly moving to the solution.
The better the hide, the better the hunt.
The moment of finding something should give you meaning. It should give you pleasure, just like the kids this Sunday, finding eggs they thought were hidden.
It should give you the insights to plan the next move. Knowing that you have got to the core of the onion. Knowing you have understood what REALLY matters and what is REALLY going on in the mind of the other person.
When we realise these sales superpowers, the whole job of turning a prospect into a customer becomes much easier.
That’s my view anyway…
Do you agree with me?
Would this work for you?
Does this cover a challenging sales situation you have had?
If not, then what sales question or area would you like me to cover in a future newsletter?
Let me know. I read all replies even if I don’t have time to reply to them all.
Thanks, as ever, for being part of my community.
Have a brilliant sales week ahead and remember: Eat or be Eaten.
