WEEK 30

IMPROVE THE WAY YOU ASK AND ANSWER QUESTIONS

One of the themes of this book is that you must treat your clients with respect. Don’t lie to them; don’t try to manipulate them. Give them your very best advice and work for a long-term relationship, not for a short-term sale. This is the best advice I can give you.

At the same time, I don’t want you to carelessly talk yourself out of a sale through verbal mistakes. There are good ways and bad ways to negotiate a deal. If a transaction is not in the clients’ best interest, don’t try to force it on them. But when a deal is exactly what they want and need, you still need to be careful not to upset the chemistry that has gotten your clients to the brink of saying yes.

I always practice a form of sales talk that emphasizes listening on my part and asking lots of questions. I never ask questions that a client can answer with a simple yes or no. One-word answers kill the conversation and they don’t tell me anything. As a salesperson, I’ve got to uncover my client’s emotional reactions to the pending sale. My first rule of sales talk is discussed next.

ASK QUESTIONS THAT REQUIRE SOME EXPLANATION FROM YOUR CLIENT

For example, I never ask home sellers what price they want to list their house for.

That would get a reply like “$160,000.” Instead, I’ll ask what factors go into the clients’ thinking about the price. They may tell me their friends down the street sold their house for that much. And now I understand more about their expectations and what I have to do to bring them around to a realistic price.

In the same way, I avoid giving simple, direct answers to many questions that clients ask me. And for the same reasons. I don’t want to kill the conversation; rather, I’m looking for ways to draw out my clients so I can understand their feelings. For example, if the clients ask me what I think of a price of $175,000, instead of saying it’s too high or too low for their house, I may say something like, “Tell me why that price appeals to you.” The goal is to get the client talking about the concerns that lie behind their questions. Once you know those concerns, you’re in a much better position to counsel your client.

TRY TO ANSWER A QUESTION WITH A QUESTION OF YOUR OWN

You’ve also got to be careful not to “unsell” your product. If the clients ask me how big a home lot is, I do not answer directly by saying “150 by 80.” That may scare them off if they think that lot size is too big or too small. So I’ll ask, “How big do you want it?” And they may say something like, “Not too big because I don’t want to have to mow the lawn.” And then I can say, “That’s great because this lot is average for its neighborhood and not too big.”

In the same way, if a caller asks how many bedrooms does this home have, the answer isn’t three or four. The correct answer is, “How many bedrooms do you want?” If they say three, I can say, “Great, this home has three bedrooms and a den.”

Even if your product isn’t directly what the client wants, you can still answer questions by pointing out the advantages of what you’re selling. Don’t push so far that you annoy the client, but you need to guard against losing a deal that’s good for your client by giving a careless answer.

BREAK DOWN BAD NEWS INTO TERMS THAT ARE EASIER TO ACCEPT

For example, suppose the clients tell me that a home price is $10,000 more than they think they can afford. Instead of saying the deal’s over, I’ll ask them what they think that $10,000 means in terms of a monthly payment. Maybe they have some exaggerated idea of what their monthly obligation would be. And I’ll say, “What if I can show you that extra $10,000 means only $2 a day more in your payments? Or $60 a month?” Or something like that. I’ll keep working with them to break down the scary-sounding number to something they can more easily handle.

Sometimes their fears or emotional reactions are based on erroneous thinking. And sometimes these fears can put them out of a sale that really could be good for them. It’s our job as salespeople to make sure this doesn’t happen. I don’t want you to force any deals that are bad for your clients; but also I don’t want you to let a good transaction get away simply because you ask or answer a question in a careless way.

 

Ralph’s Rule: Talking to a client is an art form. It involves getting the client to reveal what he or she really feels about your product or service. If you can guide the conversation to that point, you’ll find both you and your clients are happier.