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remember when it was fashionable to lead a customer
The ve
The very point of salery point of sale
in a hypnotic fashion through a gauntlet of questions
designed to build up to a close.
• Lazy questions: MLSs who ask questions like, "What
Are you asking the industry are you in?" are disrespectful and reveal
they didn't take the time to prepare for the sales call.
right questions? • Self-serving questions: MLSs who lead with ques-
tions about their company demonstrate they care
more about themselves than a client.
• Trick questions: MLSs who ask clients to choose be-
By Dale S. Laszig tween A and B are using a tactic known as "choice not

uestions are invaluable assets for merchant level chance," a patronizing technique that assumes a cli-
salespeople (MLSs). Properly framed questions ent's gullibility.
can capture the essence of a problem or help • Hostile or aggressive: MLSs who go on the offensive
Q close a sale. Whether they bubble up spontane- by asking rude questions such as, "Why do you con-
ously or are carefully planned, good questions have com- tinue to invest in a program that doesn't work?" assert
mon characteristics, according to Paul Cherry, author of arrogance and telegraph hostility.
Questions that Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What
Your Customer Really Wants. Fresh, engaging questions
Leslie Stretch, CEO at Medallia Inc., a cloud-based expe-
Competing in today's hypercompetitive marketplace re- rience management company, observed that the customer
quires more than product knowledge, Cherry noted. Sales- journey had been radically changing, even before the global
people need empathy, which is demonstrated in the ques- coronavirus pandemic. In his keynote address at Medallia's
tions they ask prospects. If they don't ask the right ques- Experience '20 virtual summit, he urged attendees to stay
tions, they won't close the sale, he stated. "For too many connected to customers, employees and citizens. Digital
years, so-called sales experts have been preaching the val- technologies help individuals and organizations stay con-
ues of relationships without defining them," Cherry wrote. nected but are only as effective as their messages, Stretch
"Most have argued that salespeople need only to 'build rap- noted. Empathy matters today more than ever.
port, honesty, and trust' in order to further their business
ends. These are the characteristics of a friendship, though, Cherry's revised edition of Questions that Sell recommends
and they do not necessarily build a successful sales rela- the following for sparking impactful customer conversa-
tionship." tions:

ROI, not BFF • Educational questions: Share personal observations
and compare notes with prospects to expand knowl-
Cherry noted that customers are not in business to make edge and understanding.
friends with service providers. They want substantive re-
lationships that produce measurable results. They will • Lock-on questions: Expand on buyers' comments.
choose providers that recognize their challenges and un- • Impact questions: Examine the impact of challenges
derstand their businesses and take a proactive approach by customer is facing.
helping them identify issues that were not even on their • Expansion questions: Get buyers to enlarge on what
radar, he explained. they have told you.

"Questions do more than transfer knowledge — they open • Comparison questions: Compare one thing to an-
new possibilities by enabling people to step back and dis- other, which is useful in identifying priorities and for
cover something that they hadn't previously thought about gaining greater clarity.
as they consider the question," Cherry wrote. He also point- • Vision questions: Invite the buyer to see what they
ed out that good questions can help prospective customers stand to gain and how you can help them achieve
recognize and understand their problems, a prerequisite their goals, hopes and dreams.
for accepting their need for assistance, and customers who
feels understood will be more likely to share information. "Intimate connections to customers matter more than ever
before," Stretch said. "Video, Voice, Messaging and Ideation
It's also time to lose cheesy sales tactics that were popu- forge and perpetuate the deep connections necessary to
lar in the 1990s, such as "tie-downs," "choice not chance" thrive in the future."
and "leading questions," Cherry noted, adding that these
techniques aren't effective in today's customer-centric en- Dale S. Laszig, senior staff writer at The Green Sheet and managing
vironment; they limit the opportunity to build meaningful director at DSL Direct LLC, is a payments industry journalist and content
partnerships that last. Following are several examples: development specialist. She can be reached at dale@dsldirectllc.com
• Leading questions: Payments industry veterans may and on Twitter at @DSLdirect.
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