Qualify For “Why” Not Just For “What”

Slow Down Your Qualifying to Speed Up Your Sales Process

My clients often look at me quizzically when I say that slowing down when they qualify a prospect will speed up their sales process. What do I mean by that? One of the most common mistakes salespeople make is qualifying for “what” but not for “why.” While asking “what” questions is important, “why” questions provide insight into the depth of your prospect’s pain, their urgency to resolve that pain, and the strength of the emotions that will cause them to make a change (purchase your product) or stick with the status quo.

Indeed, just this week I spoke with a new client, Kathy, who has been struggling to close deals. She said she has good initial meetings, learns a lot about what her prospects want, then she submits a proposal detailing how she can meet their needs. But many prospects simply don’t respond. Of those who do most say, “I’ll think it over and get back to you,” which they don’t.

So, I asked Kathy to send me her qualifying questions. As I suspected, her questions all focus on understanding her prospects’ “what” rather than their “why.” Because Kathy is only qualifying for “what” she has no idea why her prospects would buy her services, why they need to make a change, how urgent their need is, or how much value they will derive from the services she provides. Put another way, Kathy is wasting time getting detailed information on her prospects’ projects before she knows whether they want to work with her and why. She is also misleading herself on the success of her initial meetings; she is getting a lot of information, but most of it won’t help her close the sale. That sets her up for longer sales cycles at best and rejection at worst.

So, what does qualifying for “what” sound like?

Qualifying for “what” starts with asking a prospect about the problems or challenges they are facing. Then asking about the capabilities they need to overcome those challenges, what features and benefits they are looking for, what their timeline is and how much they have budgeted to make the purchase. Don’t get me wrong, these are all important questions. But too many salespeople stop qualifying there, deliver a proposal, then wonder why they aren't closing those deals.

To illustrate my point, take a look at the dialogue below between Kathy, who is a digital marketing consultant, and her prospect, Linda, who is an architect.

KATHY:?Linda, can I ask, what prompted you to meet with me?

LINDA:?I need to update my website.

KATHY:?Ok, can you tell me a little more about that? What are you thinking?

LINDA:?Well, I wrote most of the content about two years ago when I first started my business. My service offering has evolved since then. Also, I now have a better understanding of my clients’ needs so I think my messaging can be more effective. And I have a number of client projects and testimonials that I want to feature on the site.

KATHY:?That sounds great. What do you think about the overall design and structure of the site?

LINDA:?The structure is good, though I’d like to add a new section for the testimonials. I also want to update the look and feel of the site with more and better photographs and videos of projects I’ve completed.

KATHY:?Ok, do you have an idea of how many pages we’ll have to update and how many new pages we’ll need to create??

LINDA:?Well, my current site has about six pages. I’m not sure about new pages. I expect we won’t have to create more than two or three.

And so the conversation goes. Kathy feels good because she’s getting a lot of detailed information about the project. She’s already envisioning what the new site will look like. She’s also estimating how much time it will take and calculating the amount she’ll have to charge. So, she asks:

KATHY:?Do you have a budget for this project?

LINDA:?No. I have no idea what it will cost. That’s why I called you to get a proposal. Is this the type of work you do?

KATHY:?Yes, my team and I can create the new pages, edit your existing copy and update and add new photos and videos. If you’d like, I can show you some sites that we’ve designed for other clients. It will probably take us two to three weeks from start to finish. Does that meet your expected timeline?

LINDA:?Yes, I’m hoping to have it done by the end of next month. I’d like to make a decision quickly and get started as soon as possible. Can you send me a proposal?

KATHY:?Yes, I’d be happy to. It’ll take me a couple of hours to pull the proposal together, do you mind if I send it by tomorrow afternoon?

LINDA:?That would be great! Thank you.

What is Kathy’s mistake? She understands what Linda wants to do, update her website, but not why Linda wants to do it. Sure, Kathy can make some assumptions, but by failing to ask the “why” questions Kathy misses the opportunity to tap into the emotions – concern, anxiety, fear – that will drive Linda’s decision. By not qualifying for “why” Kathy also has no idea of the value her work might represent to Linda or what is driving her urgency to update her site right away.

David Sandler used to say, people make buying decisions emotionally – they justify those decisions intellectually. Sandler’s insight was later confirmed by psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in in their work on Prospect Theory which won Kahneman a Noble Prize in 2002. And it is echoed in Simon Sinek’s best-selling book Start With Why.

In Start With Why Sinek describes the Golden Circle, a model of three concentric circles with the innermost labeled “Why” representing people's motives or purposes. Surrounding “Why” is a ring labeled "How" which represents people's processes or methods. Enclosing “How” is the outermost ring labeled "What" which represents results or outcomes.

Sinek describes these circles as corresponding to the structure of the human brain. The outer “What” circle is the neocortex, the outermost section of the brain, which is responsible for rational and analytical thought and language. The “How” and “Why” circles correspond to the limbic system and reptilian complex which are at the core of the brain and are responsible for emotions and decision making.

Unlike the neocortex, the limbic system does not process language which is why it is sometimes difficult to put feelings into words. Similarly, “gut decisions” can be difficult to explain because the decision making is done by the reptilian complex while the explaining is done by the neocortex. Sinek also explains that neuroscientists believe gut decisions are faster and higher quality decisions while rational decisions typically lead to overthinking, take longer, and can often be of lower quality.

So, how does this relate to improving your sales calls?

When responding to questions that qualify for “what,” your prospect responds based on facts and logic. In other words, they process the conversation in their neocortex. They engage intellectually, but not emotionally. On the other hand, if your prospect has real anxiety about a problem or challenge which you can help them resolve, they will feel that anxiety viscerally when they respond to questions that qualify for “why” like How does this problem impact your business? or How do you feel about this particular challenge? How does it impact you personally? That anxiety leads them to desire respite in the form of a solution that solves their problem. The depth of their anxiety, reflected by the cost to their business or the personal impact of not resolving the problem, is what creates urgency and prompts them to make a decision, take action, and move forward.

With that in mind, think about how different this second dialogue is from the first:

KATHY:?Linda, can I ask, what prompted you to meet with me?

LINDA:?I need to update my website

KATHY:?Why do you need to update your website?

LINDA:?Because people are visiting my website but they are not converting into paying clients.

KATHY:?So, is the problem that you have a poor website or that you are not getting enough leads to convert into sales?

LINDA:?I think it’s both. If I had a better website, more visitors would engage. That would result in more conversations and more paying customers.

KATHY:?What I’m hearing is that you may have two challenges:?the first is that you’re not getting enough leads and the second is that your website is not engaging enough for visitors to want to have a conversation with you. Is that fair? And, if you agree, can we approach this as two problems??

LINDA:?Yes.

KATHY:?Ok, let’s focus on the first issue:?you are not getting enough leads. Can you share with me how many leads you are generating on a weekly basis today and how many you need or want?

LINDA:?I probably get 3 or 4 per week. I really need to get 6 to 8 per week to generate the revenue I need.

KATHY:?So, you need to double the number of leads you’re getting? Would that mean doubling your revenue?

LINDA:?Yes. If I can double my revenue this year I’ll be making enough to stay in business on my own. If not, I’ll have to go back to work for a bigger firm.

KATHY:?How would you feel about that?

LINDA:?I started my own firm so I could feel in control of my life and my career. If I go back to a large firm, working for someone else, I know I’ll get frustrated and want to quit again within six months.

KATHY:?So, failure is not an option.

LINDA:?Absolutely not. I've worked too long and hard to establish my business. And I just can't see giving it all up now.

KATHY:?I understand, Linda. Establishing a business is so tough. It takes so much time, energy, and commitment. So, let's talk about how we can achieve your goal of 6 to 8 solid leads per week. Can you tell me, what type of marketing activities you are doing to generate leads?

LINDA:?Obviously there is my website. I am also doing email marketing and social media campaigns. And I get referrals from networking groups.

KATHY:?Are you doing SEO, targeted content development, or adword purchases?

LINDA:?I have purchased adwords in the past, but that didn’t generate any results.

KATHY:?Do you know how many leads you are generating from each of the activities you are doing? How many from your website, email, social media, and networking?

This first line of questioning is about discovering the root cause of Linda’s problem. Poor conversion from her website is a symptom, but the root problem is that her entire lead generation engine isn’t producing the quantity of leads she needs.

Once you understand the root problem, you want quantify the impact of the problem on the business and the individual - this is where you discover your prospect's "why." As a result of poor lead generation, Linda may have to close her business and go back to work for a larger firm. Linda dreads the thought of that so emotionally she is prepared to make a decision to invest time, money and energy to change her marketing programs.

By establishing a baseline in terms of where Linda is today and where she wants to be Kathy is establishing the depth of Linda's pain. Through this dialogue Kathy is also able to expand the conversation – and the potential value of the services she provides – from simply updating the website to determining whether Linda’s entire digital marketing program is working or not. In other words, Kathy is moving from being a vendor who delivers a commoditized service – website development – to being a trusted advisor who gets Linda to think beyond her surface-level problem to uncover and address the root cause issues.

After establishing the gap between where Linda is today and where she wants to be, Kathy can return to the issue of the website itself - a secondary pain point that also needs to be addressed. One way to discover the root cause of a problem is to ask “why” five times. For example:

KATHY:?You mentioned your website is not engaging enough for visitors to want to have a conversation. Can you help me understand why you think the website content is a problem?

LINDA:?Because I’m getting traffic to the website but no one is clicking through to ask for more information or to schedule a call.

KATHY:?Why is no one clicking through to take action?

LINDA:?I don’t know exactly. I assume it’s because my content isn’t compelling enough or they don’t understand how I can help them.

KATHY:?Why don’t you think your content is compelling enough to get people to take action?

LINDA:?Well, I wrote a lot of the content two years ago and I haven’t updated it since.

KATHY:?Why haven’t you updated your content?

LINDA:?I just don’t have the time to write new content. I'm so busy running the business that I don’t have time to devote to tasks like marketing – I know it’s important but so is everything else.

KATHY:?If you know it’s important, and failure isn’t an option, why don’t you prioritize it above other activities?

LINDA:?Probably because it takes me a lot of time to develop new content. Also, I’m not very confident in my ability to write content that will engage customers. So, I avoid doing it because it seems like a lot of work for minimal returns. I've thought about outsourcing it, but I haven't found the right marketing partner to work with.

From the dialogue above, you can understand that “I need to update my website” (the “what”) is not the root cause of Linda’s problem. Nor is the root cause the amount of time Linda has to create content. Rather, the real root cause is that Linda lacks confidence in her ability to develop good content which is why she avoids the task. And she hasn't found a marketing partner who is a good fit.

Continuing the conversation could sound something like this:

KATHY: Assuming I were to work with you to update your website content, and keep it updated over time, what do you think needs updating to make it more compelling?

LINDA:?I’m not sure. I have described my products and services in detail and I have provided some photos from past projects to show examples of my work.

KATHY: Why do you think that’s not compelling enough for prospects to take action?

LINDA:?I don’t know, that’s why I’m talking to you.

KATHY:?How well have you defined your target customers and their specific needs, wants, and desires?

LINDA:?I know my customers pretty well.

KATHY:?Can you share with me who exactly you are targeting, what problems or challenges you solve for them, and why they will buy from you rather than your competitors?

LINDA:?Well, each customer is different.

KATHY:?Do you think that could be one of the problems with your messaging? Instead of targeting a specific type of customer you are targeting anyone and everyone. As such, your messaging is diluted and therefore not compelling to anyone?

LINDA:?I see your point.

KATHY:?And if you use such broad-based messaging in your email and social media campaigns, they are not going to have the impact you want or need. Does that make sense?

LINDA:?Yes, it does. So, do you think you can help with that?

KATHY:?Possibly. That’s the type of work I do with other clients. But, before we can determine if I’m the right fit for you, we should spend a few minutes talking about your criteria for deciding on the right marketing partner and how much money you are able to invest in your marketing programs. Does that sound reasonable?

By qualifying for “why,” Kathy now understands that Linda’s motivation to change is driven by her desire for her business to survive and thrive and her fear of returning to work for a large company if it doesn’t. At the same time, Kathy differentiated herself from every other salesperson who simply qualified for “what.” By asking good "why" questions Kathy helped Linda realize that her real problem isn’t going to be solved with a quick update to her website. Rather, Linda now understands that she needs to better identify her target customers then create messaging and campaigns across all her digital channels to reach that specific audience.

Importantly, Kathy was able to do this not by telling Linda all about her web development capabilities, the strengths of her team, how they have helped other clients, and showing examples of other websites they have developed. All of that would have squarely positioned Kathy as a typical vendor in a commoditized field. And it would have forced Linda to make a "logical" decision based on proposals from several undifferentiated vendors. And, far too often, the logical decision is to go with the person you like the most but try to negotiate their price down to the lowest cost proposal received.

Instead, Kathy helped Linda reach important conclusions on her own, about a broader set of problems and needs than she first realized, and she tapped into emotions that will prompt Linda to make a decision to move forward to resolve the core challenges that are holding her business back.

So, if you aren’t closing deals, think about how you are qualifying your prospects. In Sandler we say qualify stringently to close easily. Every prospect is different. So, even though you’ve had hundreds of similar conversations, with similar prospects, with similar problems and challenges, you can’t assume you know the answers for each new prospect. My advice:?slow down, dig deeper, and qualify your prospects for “why” before you propose a solution to deal with their “how” and their “what.”

If you are interested in learning more about better prospecting and qualifying skills contact Dave Cowan at Silicon Valley Sales Group, My expertise is helping companies accelerate revenue growth by building, managing and coaching high performance sales teams and their leaders while developing their selling skills with Sandler Training.