Ask Questions, Get Sales

The LinkedIn Sales Blog featured a post on asking key questions to better sell. It was well done and I have linked it below for reference.

The post reminded me of a book I own by Stephan Schiffman, titled "Ask Questions, Get Sales: Close the Deal and Create Long-term Relationships".

The author makes the argument the sales person who has the best overall context on the operation of the prospect's company, and related, the buying process and motives of the prospect(s), is going to be in the best position to make the most appropriate proposal for a good or service offered and, thus, more likely win business.

The premise is simple yet effective: In order to be successful, you must change your mindset from ""need"-oriented" to ""do"-oriented." The message of this book centers on six core ""do" questions" for your buyers:

1) What do you do?

2) How do you do it?

3) When and where do you do it?

4) Why do you do it that way?

5) Who do you do it with? (ex: suppliers, distributors, competitive vendors)

6) How can we help you do it better?

Question 6 cannot be asked before the first five questions are answered.

And Schiffman notes, once you have clarity, the answer to 6 may be "no".

Getting the fuller picture explains how the prospect and their company processes evolved and identifies drivers for making decisions on new opportunities.

Understanding their assumptions on how they believe they will operate in the future puts the sales person in the position of reinforcing or challenging the assumptions of the prospect.

The sales person has information to potentially get them to think differently how they can obtain a more productive result in the future through the product or service they are offering.

Also, by understanding the intended future process, the seller is in a better position to start working early on to shift the relationship from a vendor to a broader partnership within the overall business operations of the buyer.

The book is written in a straightforward manner, which I appreciate. The core is 136 pages, plus supplemental and appendix information, in paperback format. If interested, it is available from Amazon for $10. More on the author: www.steveschiffman.com

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The blog post from LinkedIn I cited:

Also:

About me

I have been a career sales professional in B2B sales. This has included managing my own territories, selling jointly with others and managing sales teams.

My career started in Seattle with the Puget Sound Business Journal, but a significant portion of my professional time was in California, split between Los Angeles and Orange County, before a return to Seattle.

You can reach me via InMail or at [email protected]

Also

I am owner and community manager for the LinkedIn group?Seattle Sales, Marketing and Advertising Professionals, which has 4900+ members. (1) Seattle Sales, Marketing & Advertising Professionals | Groups | LinkedIn

I am also one of the first million members of LinkedIn (2004).

I am a volunteer and former board member (2013-2019) for The Friends of the Seattle Public Library. I continue as community manager of the LinkedIn company page. (1) Friends of The Seattle Public Library: Overview | LinkedIn

When I lived in Orange County I was a volunteer for the Friends of the City of Orange Library.

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