Ask Pointed Questions For Specific Answers
When you are meeting with a prospect do you ask questions like
these: Are you satisfied with your current check guarantee company?
Is there anything that you want done differently? Is there anything
I can do to help you? If you are using questions like these and not
getting the information you need, it's because the questions are too
open-ended.
Asking vague questions allows your prospect to think that you have
all the time in the world to listen to their business problems. It
also leads to generalizations, not the specifics you can use to lead
the prospect to the buying decision. If the prospect doesn't
perceive a problem with the status quo you have no additional
information. You need to formulate these questions in a way that
helps your prospect focus on the benefits you have to offer.
Start by listing all of the possible loss situations the prospect
might encounter without your services. Then formulate questions that
best describe these scenarios. For example, instead of saying, "Are
you happy with your current check guarantee service?" try saying,
"How many sales have you lost because your customer's check was not
approved?" The table below lists some other pointed questions you
might try during your next presentation.
Loss Situation
|
Probing Question
|
Not enough cash today
|
How often do you lose a sale when the
customer won't have the required cash until "next
week?"
|
No second ID for a check
|
Do you lose sales when the customer doesn't
have the ID required by your current check guarantee
company?
|
Claim problems
|
Does your current check guarantee company
offer merchants "No Fault" claims?
|
Time consuming, complicated approval process
|
Are your customers aggravated at the
point-of-sale by your check approval process?
|
Bank fees for bad checks
|
Does your current check guarantee company
reimburse you for your bad check fees?
|
After you have listened to your prospect's answers to these
questions, you will be able to highlight your service's benefits.
Your prospect will appreciate your knowledge of his or her business.
The value of what you have to offer will be tangible to your prospect
as you focus in on the business benefits you have available.
Remember: You can hit the sales bull's-eye more often with a
pointed question than with a scattered thought.
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