Rehab Sales: Ask the right questions

A. As we discussed in the last article, the first steps toward providing a great solution are to clearly understand the problem that needs to be solved and to make certain that you and your customer are in agreement.

Here are the next steps for gaining acceptance of your solution. Ask these questions:

Are they aware of the solution I'm recommending? Are they informed about it? Do they like it? Do they prefer it?

Seems simple and intuitive, right? It is, but don't skip a step and assume you know the answers. To be influential, you have to genuinely be interested in and understand the responses, so ask the questions and listen.

“Are you aware of the solution I'm recommending?”

If the answer is “no” then obviously the answer to the next three questions is also “no.” Make sure you're armed with shareable information: handouts, videos, website links and samples or demos.

“Do you know about the solution I'm recommending; do you have enough information?”

Simply describing the features isn't enough. Your customer is more interested in how the features will benefit them. Ask them what they know about it and answer their questions.

“What do you think about it?”

The goal here is for them to like it. If they don't like it for some reason, find out why they're skeptical. The best tools for influencing a skeptic are proof sources, examples of how this product or solution has worked in other similar situations. Present case studies and testimonials instead of just glossy product pictures.

“Do you prefer this solution over the other possibilities?”

If your customer doesn't prefer your solution, ask why and go back to the previous step. Understand their objections and discuss them. If you still can't get the desired response, you'll need to shift gears a little.

Don't forget to listen! It's a lot more important to be interested than to be interesting.