Questions
Do not think of the color red!
20/04/09 19:30
When dealing with customers and potential clients, many people in business know to ask the basic standard questions; Do you have budget? What is the process you have to go through to get this purchased? Who else do you have to involve in this decision? etc. However, very few people truly appreciate the power of questions and what it can do to either help...or harm you.
As you can see from the beginning of this post, you can very easily guide someone to a particular answer based upon the questions and statements that you use. Although this may bring a tear of joy and happiness to the eye of your VP of Sales, the reality is that when you are digging deeper to get a true understanding of a clients particular needs, and business requirements you have to be careful with the questions that you ask. The last thing you want to do is to ask questions that will lead them to give you the information that you want to hear. Of course you think your idea is a great one. Of course you think that the market desperately needs your product or service. It is good to believe this...but just make sure you are not using your questioning process to simply help you confirm your beliefs. The goal should be to build and use questions that will reveal “insider” information which you can then use to build your product or service, clearly define your pricing strategy, identify the most efficient route to market, and to understand the “hot buttons” which will give your marketing and sales momentum the kick that it deserves.
Many companies get caught in the trap of thinking that their sales team should be able to uncover this information and to communicate it back to the rest of the company including development. The thing you have to remember is that your sales team is paid to close deals. It is in their blood to ask questions, and lead a conversation to a decision point and next steps. This combined with the fact that you should not be distracting your sales team from what they are supposed to be doing....selling, means that they are not the best people to be doing this activity. Think about the last time you went to buy something and a sales person approached you. Right or wrong....I am willing to bet that if you think back to this situation, and how you felt, you may remember how you instinctively become just a bit more guarded about what you said to this salesperson. Do you want your clients feeling the same way when you are trying to uncover information about their needs which is vital to the success of your product...and your company?
So, the next time you are looking to truly understand your client needs and business requirements, ensure that your questions are not leading them to give you answers that you want to hear. It is better (and much cheaper) to hear the hard truths regarding your product or service now....and not 12 to 18 months after you have already taken it to market. Also, be sure to send in the person (people) who can most effectively put your clients at ease. If you approach this properly, and understand these concepts then you will build a successful business from a commercially successful product or service....which will allow you to focus your attention on your business which is in the BLACK....and not in the RED.
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