Mark Walker, JM Walker Group

It is easy to make a lot of assumptions about what prospects and customers mean during your conversations. Making assumptions can prevent you from uncovering new opportunities to serve your customers with additional products and services.

Here are some open-ended questions that can help get to the facts and uncover new opportunities:

• Who/What Else? Once your company becomes an approved supplier, ask questions about how decisions are made. "What is the usual decision process when you are selecting from among several options?" or "Who else needs to agree to this before you can place the order with us?" or "What are some other key goals you want to achieve this year?"
  
• Background. "What has worked (or NOT worked) for you in the past?"
  o How often does this problem (circumstance, re-order, application) come up?"
  o What evidence have you seen that shows you (that problem, those issues)?
  o What will happen if you do not resolve the problem? (Consequences)
  o What will happen when you solve the problem? (Rewards)
  
• Clarification. "Let me see if I understand clearly." (Then repeat your understanding the situation and continue until they agree that you have it right. Repeat rewards and consequences in dollar value terms, or other values important to the customer.)
  
• Think from Their View. This always enhances a relationship with an established customer: "What do you want to have accomplished (learned, resolved, etc) at the end of our discussion today?" or "What is not happening that you want to see happen?" or "What is going on in your business that is starting to keep you up at night?"

You can learn questions from others that will be useful in "peeling the onion." Kevin Simons, of Atlanta-based Expedient Management Services, gave me two such questions in a recent conversation:

1. "What is the most important thing to you in making your decision on (your product or service)."

2. "What has to happen for you to feel as though you are getting that?"

Often sales people stop asking when they feel like a question might make the customer (or themselves) uncomfortable. If your experience tells you the customer is on the wrong track, ask questions to help him discover that. Ever get the feeling that the prospect should have already bought from the another supplier? If YOU feel this, the prospect probably feels it too. Think like the prospect should think and ask something like, "It sounds like you've gotten great service from your present supplier. Why haven't you placed the order with them?" You may uncover a real challenge that you can resolve that the other supplier can't. Or you might discover that you cannot provide what they need, or don't want the business based on what you learn. You might also uncover that the prospect needs three quotes, and is just getting one from you so she can go ahead and buy from her favored vendor.

When you ASK intelligent questions about the customer's needs, you demonstrate sincerity and professionalism. And you're more likely to learn what you need to know to offer additional products or services that meet the additional needs you have uncovered. You may even be able to refer your customer to an associate who provides a service or product you do not, and confirm your position as a "go to" resource for your customer.

The more ways you learn to serve a client, the greater they will value you and your company, and the more difficult it will become for competitors to get in the door.

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