Are You Prepared to Answer Sales Questions?

Posted on 03. Sep, 2007 in Newsletter

By: Art Sobczak

I heard a sales rep blindsided by a prospect who asked, “So, how do you explain the bad batch of products you guys sent out last year?” The question referred to an isolated, incident where a small amount of inferior product had slipped through into the marketplace. The rep had some knowledge of it, but hadn’t prepared to deal with it, and struggled to answer. He hemmed and hawwed into a deep hole. Lost the sale, too.

Questions, of course, are the foundation for the professional sales process. How and what we ask determines if and how quickly we move toward a sale. Prospects and customers, too, ask questions of us. How we answer them also can dictate our success. Or failure. Obviously that guy should have been better-prepared for the tough question. Are you? Particularly for the difficult or sensitive questions you’d rather not hear. Here are some ways to address questions, and answer them to your advantage.

First, understand we are all conditioned to answer questions, but many times we search meekly for answers, instead of thinking to challenge the process or the questioner. The questioner has tremendous power, and the questioned party submits. Maybe it’s because in school, teachers posed questions, and we searched for the correct answer. Many people still react to questions the same way, which can be dangerous.

When you’re asked a question you’re not ready to respond to immediately, use these techniques to gather your thoughts:

• Praise the Questioner – “Good question,” or, “… that’s an excellent point … “
• Comment on the Process. – “You have a lot of good questions. I guess I’ve touched on an area of interest.”
• Defer the Answer – “I’ll be able to give you the best answer after I get a little more information from you.”
• Enlarge the Perspective – “Really, that issue has to deal with what all manufacturers are facing, and not just our
• company. Let me address it …”
• Narrow the Perspective – “I can’t speak for every one of the 2,000 people who have been through our program, but let me give you some of the comments I’ve heard recently.”
• Seize the Opportunity -”I’m glad you brought that up. It gives me an opportunity to discuss how we …”
• Reframe the Context -If a question is based on a false premise, say, “To answer that, I must first set the record straight on …”

Action Steps:

1. Brainstorm for the most difficult questions you’ve ever heard, and hope you never hear.
2. Think of the questions that could come up, and that you hope you never hear.
3. Prepare solid answers. Not easy to do–it does require work. But simple once you’re doing it.

The way you answer questions can help or hinder your chance of getting the sale. Be prepared. Use the techniques above. You’ll stay in the game and have more shots at sales.

Articles contributed by the following Affiliates of SalesAnimals.com

Art Sobczak helps salespeople use the phone to prospect, sell, and service, while minimizing resistance and “rejection.” See free back issues of his weekly sales tips, and other articles and audio and video resources at http://www.BusinessByPhone.com He conducts both public and in-house training. Contact him at ArtS@BusinessByPhone.com, 402-895-9399.