2 Terrible Sales Questions – And What To Ask Instead

Being great at sales is, in part, being great at asking questions.

The reason – questions help you understand your buyer’s situation and, just as important, your buyer themselves. This helps you co-create a solution with them that provides value to both parties.

Except, that doesn’t always happen. Far too many reps ask far too many poor questions – questions that feel forced and actively push buyers away.

“The worst sales questions are the questions that don't engage your buyer and don't add anything valuable to the discussion,” Sales Expert Elizabeth Lotardo said, in her LinkedIn Learning course, Selling Into Companies.

So, what are some examples of bad sales questions? And what should you ask instead?

According to Lotardo, two examples are:

1. “If I could show you a way to improve your business, would you be interested?”

Honestly, just typing this question out made me roll my eyes. It reeks of a hard-charging salesperson who is trying to trick you into buying their solution

“This question is manipulative and it's so old school,” Lotardo said. “Using these smoke-and-mirrors does not set you up for a trusting long-term relationship.”

On top of the obvious hard sell implied in the words, you should never ask a question this vague. You need to know the struggle your prospect is facing before you can offer any sort of solution to allegedly improve their business.

What to ask instead: You can make this point so much more powerfully, once you understand what the buyer is struggling with and then outlining how your solution can help.

For example, instead of offering to "improve their business" – vaguer words have never been spoken – let's say, through discovery, you find out they want to become more efficient with their marketing budget. And you sell marketing technology that helps them more specifically target their buyers.

Equipped with that info, you can then speak to how your marketing technology will make their budget stretch further because they'll target the exact right people. That's going to be far more influential than this cringe-worthy opener.

2. “What keeps you up at night?”

All I can say here is – ugh.

This is one of those questions that comes across like you are trying to come up with an interesting, thought-provoking question. Or that, minutes before the call, you Googled “great sales questions,” and this popped up.

Except, it’s not original, thought-provoking, or great. Instead, it reeks of “look at me,” rarely leads to a good answer, and, most importantly, doesn’t help you push the deal forward.

What to ask instead: Just about anything!

Instead of asking this generic question, dive deeper. Show you know the industry by asking questions that are relevant to their world. And show you care by asking follow-up questions and actively listening.

Here's the real point – both of these questions come across as so artificial. You wouldn't ask a friend these questions, so why would you ask a potential business partner these questions?

Instead, ask relevant, researched questions about their business and then actively listen, so you can understand their problem. And then, if your solution feels like a fit, detail how it could help them.

Ultimately, it's about being human. Do your homework beforehand, but be yourself. That's how you'll truly connect with your buyer.

Enjoyed this post? You might like these as well:

• Selling to an Executive? Follow These 10 Steps to Win Their Respect
• 5 Things a Salesperson Should Never Say to a Prospect – And What to Say Instead
• 3 Phrases That'll Disrupt Your First Sales Call (In the Best Possible Way)
• 20 Times Michael Scott Perfectly Described Being in Sales
• 10 Effective Tips for Persuading Others, According to a Behavioral Scientist

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