Questions that Sell

by Paul Cherry

  Vision questions usually have the word if in them.

  For example:

  “If we could eliminate that problem you are currently experiencing, that problem that is costing you [for example] $1 million per year, what would it mean to your organization? And to you?”

  “If you could implement that change, how do you think that would benefit your position and goals within the company?”

  “If you successfully implemented this change, how would it affect you personally? What would you be able to do differently?”

  In particular, posing a vision question that touches on the person rather than the organization often makes salespeople uneasy. But if you are able to offer a solution that will not only help the company but also make your customer’s life better, you will elevate yourself beyond the role of a typical salesperson. You will become someone who helps them achieve their goals and desires. And they will reward you not only with their business, but their trust and loyalty.

  What Your Customer Needs

  You might be wondering why your customers have never talked to you about their personal wants and needs, such as a desire for more time with their families or their wish for a raise. People have been conditioned in our society not to expose too much and to avoid seeming vulnerable. If another person knows what really matters to them, that person could use that knowledge to take advantage of them. So customers protect themselves by masking their real wants with superficial needs.

  The best way to understand this concept is through the idea of explicit needs and implicit needs. Explicit needs are those needs most commonly expressed by customers when asked what they are looking for. Some examples of explicit needs include improving service or quality, growing the market share, and reducing overhead. These needs tend to be based on measurable factors such as price or percentage, but they do not go to the heart of why customers do what they do. For that, we must look at implicit needs.

  Implicit needs—which are by definition unexpressed—are the driving force behind most of what we do each day, and they can be broken down into seven categories:

  1.Success. This is the need to feel a sense of accomplishment when you come home from a long day of work. Even if customers do not get any immediate gratification from completing a deal, that feeling of accomplishment and achievement motivates them to strive toward the goal and see the transaction through. Customers who are looking for this need to be met will often talk about wanting to “get the job done” or “earn more income” or “look for a sense of satisfaction.”

  2.Independence. This is the need to feel some measure of controlat work. Many of our customers have several bosses to report to, as well as shareholders breathing down their necks. When a customer can make a decision on his own, he feels in charge of his own destiny, rather than as a cog in the wheel. Customers who are looking for this need to be met will often mention yearning for “the opportunity to be creative” or “trust from my bosses to make my own decision.”

  3.Recognition. This is the need to feel valued as a worker and to feel that your opinions matter. Even though we are paid for our work, almost all of us still look for that “pat on the back”—the signal from our boss that our efforts have been noticed. No one wants to go to work every day and feel that her voice is not heard. One salesperson told me that the worst day of her life was when she was told not to bother coming to a meeting. She realized then that her hard work was not being recognized and that she had become nearly invisible within her own company. Customers who are looking for this need to be met might discuss wanting “everyone to realize all of the hard work I do” or “people to really pay attention when I talk in board meetings.”

  4.Security. This need is twofold: It is the need to feel that your job will not be taken away from you along with the desire to save face and not look stupid. Although many salespeople recognize the fear their customers have of losing their jobs, most do not take into account the need of their customers to avoid embarrassment and criticism by peers and bosses. When a customer you are dealing with seems reluctant, or even procrastinates making a decision, he just may be apprehensive about making the wrong decision—or, more precisely, about being seen to make the wrong decision. As salespeople, we cannot give our customers any guarantees about their jobs, but we can give them the tools to show their superiors how vital they are to the company’s operation. Customers who are looking for this need to be met might mention being “afraid that their job could be in jeopardy” or use key words such as concerned, worried, unsure, afraid, troubled, or doubtful.

  5.Stimulation. This is the need to feel challenged by your job, to go to work every day and feel exhilarated instead of bored. We all have heard customers lament busy schedules and crazy deadlines, but even worse than those people are the customers who sit at their desks each day uninspired by the jobs in front of them. People enjoy using all of their faculties to solve a problem and often thrive on that situation. Customers who are looking for this need to be met will probably talk about the tasks they dislike or the everyday “fires” to put out.

  6.Peace of mind. Buyers have a deep need to feel that their areas of responsibility are taken care of. We all devote a huge amount of unproductive time simply worrying about things we can’t do much about. For example, think of a time when you were sitting home waiting for a repair person to show up. You may worry that he or she will be late, or get the date wrong, or won’t be able to fix your air-conditioning, or will overcharge you, and on and on. Even though the worry doesn’t really help, it’s emotionally and mentally draining. When you can show buyers that they’re in good hands, you lift that burden from their mind.

  7.Simplicity. Life is complicated these days. And managing all that complexity takes time and effort. Every decision requires mental energy. The more you can make someone’s life easier—for example, by simplifying their decisionmaking process, or simply by off-loading a problem they’ve been struggling with—the more grateful he will be.

  These implicit needs will motivate your customers to do business with you, but only if you recognize those needs. Once you understand which implicit need(s) your customer wants to meet, you can use vision questions to address that need. The next exercise will ask you to determine, based on a few sentences from a customer, the implicit need not being met.

  Exercise 1

  Read the following statements from customers and then determine which implicit need the customer is trying to meet:

  1. “It’s tough because I have only worked here for a few months and many people still do not even know who I am. I have done some really good things since I have been here, but it does not seem like anyone has noticed.”

  2. “Mr. Rice, the vice president, tells me I should be concentrating on reducing overhead, but then the regional managers yell at me because they are feeling squeezed from every side. I know that if they all just let me do my job, I would be able to find a good solution. Instead, it seems like everyone wants me to do things his way and then nothing gets done.”

  3. “Every day it’s the same thing. First, I get all of the calculations from the previous day and then I summarize them for the marketing department. I could be doing this in my sleep.”

  4. “For the last few months things have really sucked. Every deal I brokered fell through. I just want to see one sale through from beginning to end. Is that too much to ask?”

  5. “This vendor has really screwed us over. They’ve been late with deliveries, and sometimes when we get the merchandise it’s damaged and we have to send it back. Over the last eighteen months, that’s happened four times! I don’t want to get blamed for all of the lost revenue, but I’m afraid that’s exactly what will happen.”

  How to Use Vision Questions

  Once you have determined which of your customer’s needs is not being met, you can use that information to tailor vision questions for him. Let’s go back to Chapter 4, which discussed impact questions, for an example. The vice president of a chain of departmen
t stores said, “If we continue to lose money like this, I can’t imagine I would be able to keep my job for much longer. I don’t know what I would do if that happened.” It is obvious from this statement that the vice president needs to feel a greater sense of security. Now that you are aware of this fact, you can use it to create a vision question just for him.

  Vision Questions for a Customer Seeking Security

  “If you and I could find a solution to this problem, what effect do you think that would have on the company in the next five years?” (It would help ensure our financial success, and therefore my job.)

  “If you came to your boss with a solution that would save the company nearly $2 million per year, what would that mean to you?” (It would show my boss that I’m proactive and valuable.)

  “If we’re successful with this program, how do you think your life would look five years from now?” (Maybe I’d be making a lot more money.)

  As you can see, vision questions are not overly complicated. They simply ask the customer to look to the future and imagine how great a change could be. Once you have gotten a customer to the point at which you will use a vision question, you have earned the right to convince her how your product or service can help achieve that goal.

  Let us use the examples from Exercise 1 in this chapter to practice creating this type of question.

  Exercise 2

  After reading the examples, formulate a series of vision questions specific to the customer’s implicit need. The first one has been done for you (see “Answer”).

  1. “I’m fairly new to this plant and starting to get to know some of the people here. I’ve implemented some changes but my boss doesn’t seem to take notice.”

  2. “I’m pulled in so many directions, I can’t even think straight. If everyone would just let me do my job!”

  3. “I’m putting out the same old fires. Nothing changes. I’d rather spend my time with my customers.”

  4. “Every one of the last ten quotes have fallen through. What’s it going to take to win some business?”

  5. “My boss is on me to reduce the turnover in this department. Otherwise, I may be the next guy to go.”

  Answer

  Answers to statement 1:

  “In our discussion we have calculated that using the new assembly line could save the company $1 million over the next two years. What impact would that have on your company?”

  “If you were able to save the company $1 million and pave the way for a new plant in Phoenix, how do you think you would be perceived at your company? What would it mean to you personally?”

  Other Uses for Vision Questions

  Vision questions do more than serve as the second half of impact questions. They can be used by themselves when it seems that a customer has already come to the Have To stage of commitment and does not need to be convinced with impact questions.

  Vision questions can also be a way to salvage a conversation in which impact questions were not as effective as they should have been.

  Furthermore, generalized vision questions can be used during other parts of a meeting to determine the motivations of a customer. Sometimes customers are not as free in expressing their frustrations and concerns as those in the above exercises. A customer who seems standoffish and aloof might open up if asked a vision question.

  Let’s take an example. Our salesperson, Jeff, has been meeting for an excruciatingly long hour with Sandra, a prospective customer. Although Jeff has used educational questions, expansion questions, and lock-on questions, Sandra has yet to really open up and engage Jeff in conversation. Jeff is ready to throw in the towel and call it a day because he feels like he has not gotten anywhere with this sale, but he decides to ask one more question before he leaves.

  Jeff: Sandra, I realize you’re very busy. Let me ask you a question. Imagine yourself three years from today and you are looking back to today. What will make you happy knowing that you accomplished something during this time frame?

  Sandra: In three years I really hope to have moved up from divisional manager to vice president.

  Jeff: What steps do you think you will need to take in order to move up to that position?

  Sandra: Well, I have excellent performance reviews as well as four years’ experience as a divisional manager, but I need to find a way to really make a dent in the bottom line.

  Jeff: As you know, I have gathered data from your people and done extensive research into how we could save you money. Based on that data, I know that my service could earn you almost $3 million a year in licensing fees. If you were to bring that kind of revenue to your superiors, how would that help you attain your three-year goal?

  Sandra: Hmmm, that’s an interesting proposition. I was not aware that the opportunity was that large. If what you are saying is correct, I would be stupid not to present this idea. Let’s see if I can arrange a meeting with the president next Tuesday morning. Is there any chance you could be there?

  Some More Vision Questions

  Here are some additional ways to ask vision questions, which you can use as a template for your sales conversations:

  “If you were able to achieve your goal, in what ways would it benefit the organization? How would it benefit your department? How would it benefit you personally?”

  “What is your vision for the future of your company [department, team, territory]? What do you see as the key steps you will need to take in order to get you there?”

  “What is your dream for the future of your career? What will you have to accomplish in order to get where you want to be?”

  “Try to picture yourself a year from now. Share with me exactly what has to happen in order for you to be satisfied with the outcome.”

  “What could you stop doing if this problem were solved? And what would you do with that free time?”

  “If you could accomplish this objective, what would that mean to you?” “If this problem were solved, what would it enable you to do?”

  There are no downsides to using vision questions because of the positive tone and upbeat message they present. On a typical day, most of the working population remains locked in the present and does not think about the future and what it might bring for them. If you can use vision questions to lift your customers out of the present and into a sunny future, they will be forever grateful to you, not to mention the fact that they will almost certainly want to do business with you.

  CHAPTER

  8

  Putting It All Together:

  From Prospect to Close

  I HAVE GIVEN you a lot of information, and it might be difficult to imagine what a sales call looks like when it incorporates all of the tools presented in this book. Unfortunately, I cannot be there with you to demonstrate these techniques, so I’ve chosen to do the next best thing.

  On the following pages you will find a complete scenario of a sales call, from beginning to end and using all of the different types of questions I have introduced. I’ve used an example from the medical field, because salespeople are often viewed with suspicion in this field, and it can be especially tough to break into this world and establish your credibility.

  If you don’t do business in this area, don’t worry. I have left out much of the technical jargon in order to focus on the ways in which salespeople can connect with customers. And the basic challenges are similar in other fields, especially technical or specialized markets where “laypeople” have a hard time getting taken seriously.

  As you read the following example, take note of the various methods employed by the salesperson and the perseverance needed to complete this sale.

  Samantha, Our Salesperson

  Samantha sells to hospitals and other patient-care facilities. Her product, the MedInfo app, gives doctors and nurses instant access to a patient’s medical history through their smartphones, tablets, and computers. It helps hospitals coordinate patient care, improve scheduling of procedures, and reduce duplication of tests. As a result, health systems
can run more efficiently, and reduce error rates by as much as 10 percent.

  Whereas previous systems were slow and cumbersome to use, the MedInfo interface is quick and intuitive. In addition, it helps protect patient privacy by eliminating paper records, which can be read by anyone with access to a hospital room. The MedInfo app is password protected, ensuring that only authorized personnel can view confidential information.

  There are several problems Samantha must overcome in order to complete any sale. One of her biggest problems is the product’s complexity. Though the interface is simple, the hospital’s IT department has to do a lot of work on the back end to connect all of the information. In addition, the app has multiple “power user” features that give clinicians and hospitals powerful insights into patient care. But these features take time to explain, and Samantha finds that most customers tune out.

  Another problem Samantha must face involves the initial expense of her product. The cost to set up the MedInfo app in an average-size hospital often exceeds $300,000. This money is needed to create a secure computer network that will be accessible throughout the hospital, to meet federal privacy regulations, and to configure the app to work with the hospital’s existing systems.

  Most low-level administrators or purchasing agents react with horror when they hear prices like this, but Samantha must convince them of the benefits of her system in order to reach the real decisionmakers. Once Samantha can illustrate the positive aspects of her product to hospital executives, most can see the potential value of the app and agree that the costs are reasonable. But hospitals are highly bureaucratic, and getting past these low-level people is the hardest part of the sale.

  Day 1. Samantha Talks with a Manager in Accounting