how to teach salespeople to always ask the right questions

How to Teach Salespeople to Always Ask the Right Questions

Michael HalperFounder and CEO

SalesScripter

The Way Things Usually Work

Most Companies Don’t Teach What Questions to Ask

Company Info Product Info Internal Processes

Sales Methodology

Quota Territory Go Make it Happen

The Way Things Usually Work

Salespeople Have to Figure Out What Questions to Ask

• Leads to on-the-job learning• Learning through trial-and-error• Opportunities are missed due to not asking

the right questions• Deals are lost• Sales performance is not what it could be• Long new hire ramp up time• Can lead to some of the sales staff turnover

Product and Company

KnowledgeExperience

Personality and

Instincts

Hard Work / Activity

Core Concepts

The best salesperson is the one the asks the best questions.

• Makes calls and meetings more interactive

• Makes a better impression

• Extracts valuable information

• Will Minimize “All About Me”

• It is the opposite of what bad salespeople do

Core Concepts

Asking good questions can be taught/learned.

• A salesperson can learn to ask good questions regardless of:– Their level/years of experience– Sales skills they currently have– Personality style

Core Concepts

The questions are easier to teach than the answers.

• It can take a very long time for a sales person to learn the answers to all of the questions that a prospect may ask – months to years.

• With the right sales tools, a salesperson can learn what questions to ask in a matter of days.

• A salesperson can sound credible by asking good questions even without knowing the answers to the prospect’s question.

• You can shorten new hire ramp up time by focusing more on teaching the questions to ask.

Core Concepts

Good salespeople can be developed and created.

• Does not matter the level of experience, sales skills or personality type

• Requires ability to learn, follow a process, motivation ability to communicate at a professional level

• Providing clarity around the right questions to ask will have a direct impact on improving sales performance

Types of Questions to Ask

• Pre-Qualifying

• Hard Qualifying

• Meeting Questions

• Networking Questions

• Closing Questions

Pre-Qualifying Questions

Pre-Qualifying Questions

Pre-Qualifying Questions

Example: SalesScripter for Sales Managers

• How concerned are you about the amount of time it takes to get new sales hires ramped up and performing?

• How confident are you that all of your sales resources are saying and asking the right questions when talking with prospects?

• How important is it for you to get under-performing sales resources to meet or exceed their objectives?

Pre-Qualifying Questions

Example: SalesScripter for Salespeople

• How do you feel about your sales pitch and talk tracks?

• Do you think that you are saying the right things and asking the questions when talking with prospects?

• How important is it for you to improve your ability to generate more leads and have more success prospecting?

Pre-Qualifying Questions

Building Your Pre-Qualifying Questions

Step 1: Identify Target

Prospect

Step 3: Identify Prospect’s

Benefits

Step 4: Identify Prospect's

Problems

Step 5: Develop Probing

Questions

Ex:

Sales Manager

Ex:

get new sales people trained quicker

Ex:

it takes a long time and is difficult to get new sales resources trained and ramped up

Ex:

How concerned are you about the amount of time it takes to get new sales hires ramped up and performing?

Step 2: Identify Product to

Sell

Ex:

SalesScripter

Pre-Qualifying Questions

When to Use Pre-Qualifying Questions

• Cold calling

• Networking

• Responding to objections

• Talking to gatekeepers

• In first conversations (appointments/meetings)

Hard Qualifying Questions

Need vs. Want Questions

• What happens if you do not do anything and do not make a purchase or make any changes?

• What improvements will you see if move forward with this purchase?

• Is there at date when this purchase needs to be made?

• What happens if the purchase is not made by that date?

• What is the time frame that the project needs to work along?

Hard Qualifying Questions

Availability of Funding Questions

• Is there a budget approved for this project?

• What is the budget range that the project needs to fit in?

• Have the funds been allocated to this purchase?

• What budget (department) will this purchase be made under?

• Are there other purchases that this funding may end being used for?

• How does the project fit with other initiatives from a priority standpoint?

Hard Qualifying Questions

Decision Making Authority Questions

• What is the decision making process?

• What parties will be involved in making the decision?

• What functional areas (departments) will be impacted by the purchase?

• Who is the ultimate decision maker?

• Who is the person that will need to sign the agreement/contract?

Hard Qualifying Questions

Level of Intent Questions

• Why did you take time out of your schedule to meet with us? Why did you contact us?

• What other options are you considering?

• How do you feel about their solution (product)?

• What do you like about their solution (product)?

• What do you not like about their solution (product)?

• How does their solution (product) compare with what we have to offer?

• Is there a reason why you would choose us?

• If you had to make a decision today, which way would you lean?

Closing Questions

Trial Closing Questions

• What do you think of what we have discussed so far?

• How would that feature help your operation?

• Is this something you could see your employees (organization) using?

• Are we heading in the right direction?

Closing Questions

Soft Closing Questions

• What would you like to do next?

• What direction would you like to go in?

• Do you want to continue talking about this?

• When would you like to talk again?

Closing Questions

Hard Closing Questions

• What would you need to be able to make a commitment to move forward?

• If you had everything that you want, are you prepared to move forward?

• When are you going to make your final decision?

• (If delaying the decision) What will change or be different at that time that will make that a better time to look at moving forward?

Meeting Questions

Intro Questions

• How is your day going so far?

• How long have you been here? What did you do before?

• Where are you originally from?

• I have our meeting going to 2pm. Does that still work for you?

• I know why I would want to meet with someone in your role. Can you share with us why you agreed to take time out of your day to meet with us?

• Our plan for this meeting is to discuss ____, _____, and _____. Does that match up with your expectations?

Network Questions

Intro Questions

• How is your day going so far?

• What do you do?

• How long have you been doing that?

• What did you do before?

• What do you like most about what you do?

• Is there something that motivated you to get into that type of work?

• Where are you from?

Network Questions

Partnering Questions

• What brought you to this event?

• Have you found this to be a productive event for you?

• Are there any other networking events that you recommend?

• How can I help you to be successful?

• What does a good prospect look like for you?

Tools – Question Lists

Tools – Sales Scripts

Tools – Scripting Software

Tools – Question Trees

What is SalesScripter?

Cold Calling

Objections

Gatekeepers

Sales Messaging

Voicemail

Qualifying

Closing

Sales Process

Rapport

Building Interest

Cold Emailing

Setting Appointments

Building Credibility

Call Cadence

• Provides complete clarity for what a salesperson should do and say

• Very practical and easy to understand / implement / adopt

• Consultative selling approach

• Many tactics are counterintuitive

One Half - Sales Methodology

What is SalesScripter?

Cold Calling Scripts

Objection Responses

Key Questions

Marketing Tools

Voicemail Scripts

Meeting Scripts

Cold Email Templates

• Software platform that provides all the tools needed to execute the methodology

• Campaign-based (buyer persona) structure

• Makes it extremely easy to implement and reinforce the methodology

One Half – Prospecting Platform Software Application

Complete Sales Training Solution

Cold Calling

Objections

Gatekeepers

Sales Messaging

Voicemail

Qualifying

Closing

Sales Process

Rapport

Building Interest

Cold Emailing

Setting Appointments

Building Credibility

Call Cadence

Methodology

Salesperson

Manager

Cold Calling Scripts

Objection Responses

Key Questions

Marketing Tools

Voicemail Scripts

Meeting Scripts

Cold Email Templates

Software PlatformResources and Services

Books

Training Videos

One-on-One Coaching

Sales Consulting

Live Training

Completely

Aligned

Resources

• Five ebooks – Found at https://salesscripter.com/ebooks/– Do’s and Don’ts of Cold Calling– How to Get around Cold Call Objections– How to Build a Value Proposition that Generates

Leads– How to Build Sales Campaigns that Sell– How to Build Email Drip Campaigns that Convert

Sales

• The Cold Calling Equation – PROBLEM SOLVED– Found at

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cold-Calling-Equation-Problem/dp/1468173545

Our Books

Training

• Week 1– Understanding the Ideal Sales Process– How to Make Cold Calls– Appointment Setting Tactics– Voicemail Messaging Methodology

• Week 2– Sales Messaging Workshop– How to Get Prospect’s on the Phone– How to Get Around Objections– How to Incorporate Buyer Personas into Your

Selling– Overview of a 2-Step Qualifying Process

New Hire Onboarding Training Program / Sales Prospecting 101• Week 3

– How to Build Your Value Proposition– How to Focus on Prospect Pain– How to Get Around Gatekeepers– How to Perform the Perfect Takeaway

• Week 4– How to Build Rapport, Interest, and

Credibility– How to Improve Mental Strength When

Selling– How to Be a Better Closer

* Available through e-learning videos, live virtual, or live in-person* Can be tailored to your business

SalesScripter

What do you sell? ___________

How does it help? ___________

What problems do you fix? ___________

What questions should you ask? ___________

SalesScripter

SalesScripter

If You Want More Help

• https://www.youtube.com/user/LaunchPadSol• Or search Sales Scripter• Over 130 videos• Sales Prospecting 101 Training Program• Webinars• Sales Tips• SalesScripter demo videos• Subscribe

Step 1 – Go to our YouTube Channel

Resources

• Five ebooks – Found at https://salesscripter.com/ebooks/– Do’s and Don’ts of Cold Calling– How to Get around Cold Call Objections– How to Build a Value Proposition that Generates

Leads– How to Build Sales Campaigns that Sell– How to Build Email Drip Campaigns that Convert

Sales

• The Cold Calling Equation – PROBLEM SOLVED– Found at

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cold-Calling-Equation-Problem/dp/1468173545

Step 2 – Get Some of Our Books

If You Want More Help

• Free 30 day trial– Found at https://salesscripter.com/members/signup

• Scripter Walk-Through– 2 hour coaching session– We answer all of the questions with you– Included with an annual subscription

Step 3 – Sign up for SalesScripter Trial

If You Want More Help

• One-on-one Sales Coaching

• Sales Consulting– Script development– Strategy development– Sales process development

• Sales Training– Custom sales training programs– Content aligned with your information in SalesScripter– Delivered virtually or in-person

Step 4 – Contact us for Coaching, Consulting, or Training

Questions?

Michael HalperFounder and CEO

SalesScriptermhalper@salesscripter.com

www.salesscripter.com