“There’s no doubt about it, questions persuade more powerfully than any other form of verbal behaviour.  That’s not just in selling.  Studies of negotiation, management interactions, performance interviews and group discussions ... have all come up with the same basic fact.  There is a clear statistical association between the use of questions and the success of the interaction”

So why are questions so important in successful selling, and which types of questions are more powerful than others?

The Importance of Questions

There are four main reasons why questions are so important in selling:

To Collect Useful Information

Francis Bacon’s famous quotation “... for knowledge itself is power ...” sums up the principal argument for collecting information.  More specifically, questions can help us to:

-           Qualify the customer’s role in the decision making process

-           Uncover wants and develop needs

-           Discover areas of concern

-           Identify a suitable solution

-           Ask for an order

To Clarify Information Given

Whilst it is obviously essential that we gather sufficient information to develop a solid sales case, it is equally important to make sure that we fully understood what’s been said.  More specifically, we can:

-           Ascertain which benefits are of most importance

-           Expose the reasons behind concerns and objections

-           Confirms facts

-           Seek agreements to conclusions

• Prosell offers a program that combines sales training and sales coaching.  It is based on recognised research, which tells us that training alone has limited impact and that when supported by skilful coaching, has 74% more chance of being implemented.
• Prosell has resources to deliver these programs across Australia, covering Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.