4 Important Questions To Close A Sale
Salespeople make the economy thrive.
However, sales can be burdensome, especially when the success of your business is at stake.
It would be so much easier if things just sold themselves, but when there are many other options similar to what you offer, it's better to add a little more value to a sale.
And you have full control of doing just that.
When it comes to making a sale, the customer is fully aware whether or not you have a solution available for them.
"Your are not trying to convince them of anything. You're trying to show them how you are going to make their lives easier...There are no favors involved. It's a win-win for everybody."
- Mark Cuban
Have you ever made a purchase and felt buyers remorse?
How a bout a purchase that gave you a warm feeling in your gut that you've made the right decision.
Let's focus on the latter.
How do we close a sale where the customer foresees complete satisfaction of the purchase?
It's all about their perspective about you, and what you have to offer and if it aligns with their intended solution.
And to figure out their ideal solution, you have to gain a deep understanding on where they are, there are 4 important questions to close a sale effectively: what problems or obstacles they're having there, imply a deeper problem they may not be aware of, and having them agree on a solution they knew all along.
All this can be uncovered by asking questions. However, you must be very tactful in asking the right questions.
Here are 4 important questions to close a sale, stemming from the book SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham.
Situation Question
If you haven't done your research, situational questions are where you can gain an introductory sense on where you customer is.
Situational questions are the basics: what industry they are in, what role they have in the company, who is the decision maker etc.
These questions allow you uncover potential information on the direction of the sale.
And keep in mind, that these questions can be tiresome to ask the customer, because even though you are trying to understand their situation, they are already well aware of it and are just repeating it to you. And the feeling of redundancy can hurt your attempts in understanding them better.
It's preferred you receive this information prior to meeting, although sometimes a sale opportunity can arise at a function or social gathering. This is where these questions come into play.
Problem Questions
When the customer is actively seeking solutions, they already know about a problem or two.
These questions allows you to gain perspective on what they are.
It's about uncovering customers problems, difficulties, and/or dissatisfactions. And if you have the capability of solving them with your product or service.
The purpose of Problem Questions is to uncover Implied Needs.
Implication Questions
These questions allow you to shine as a problem solver.
You can make a difference for the customer by having the ability of uncovering deeper meanings to what the customer isn't fully aware of.
For example, in real estate if a newly wed couple is planning on purchasing a home, but mentioned they wanted to get a house but would rather choose an apartment for cost savings.
As a realtor, if you ask implication questions to uncover that they plan on having kids, and have a large family that will come visit often from out of town.
You can suggest that a house would be a better investment, and if they agree with you, you are providing a powerful solution that they were not aware of at that moment.
"The best way to establish trust is to define a customers solution better than they can describe it." - Manny Garavito
Need-Payoff Questions
The transfer of a customer implications is to convert them into explicit needs.
If they confirm that they see the problems that you've uncovered, and they align with the solution your product or service can provide, they've essentially closed the sale for you.
Using the example above:
Do you believe you'll save a lot of time and money if you purchased your house instead of moving out of the apartment after a few years?
Yes. Moving out is a big headache, I don't have time especially with the new job. And if I can avoid that later on that would be great.
In this hypothetical situation, the customer has already made their mind by explaining to you what your services have to offer.
Need-Payoff Questions are important in the sales process because they focus on solution and not problems.
