When Cold Calling, Do You Want Answers?
Before someone told me the difference between open-ended and close-ended questions, my typical sales call went something like this.
Brad–Are you having any problems with your current supplier?
Customer–No.
Brad–I see. Hmm. Do you have any new projects coming up I could bid on?
Customer–No.
Brad–Great. Can you think of anything, anything at all, I could help you with?
Customer–Yes. Would you mind straightening my tie?
Obviously, if you want to create dialog and obtain information, you must reframe questions like these into open-ended ones–
–What two or three things do you like best about your current supplier?
–What two or three areas would you like your supplier to improve in?
–Where can we work together to develop our business relationship?
–How can I become a qualified supplier to your company?
The problem is, although every sales person knows all this, it is the close-ended questions that naturally flow out of our mouths. In order to prevent nature from taking over–
1. Write down strong open-ended questions in advance. Every time you hear or think of a good question, add it to your list.
2. Practice asking these questions while you’re driving. Practice is the only way to make them sound natural.
3. Keep the list of questions handy when you’re making the call. Just having it there for backup will boost your confidence.
4. Reflect on how the call went. Did the questions work? How could you ask them better next time? Are there effective follow-up questions you might have asked?
5. Refine your questions as you go. Great sales people always ask the best questions … but great questions are made, not born.
Happy Holidays!
Cool site Brad! Great point on the open-ended questions, I’ve learned that one the hard way, unfortunately.