Sales Teams: Fix the Questions, Fix the Results

If you want better sales conversations, start by looking at the questions your salespeople are asking.

Because the quality of the conversation is usually determined by the quality of the questions.

Too many salespeople ask questions they already know the answer to.

“Are you happy with your current supplier?”

“Would you be interested in saving money?”

“Is service important to you?”

These questions don’t make the prospect think.

And if the prospect isn’t thinking, you’re probably not learning much.

Better questions create better conversations.

Instead of:

“Are you happy with your current supplier?”

Try:

“What do you like about working with your current supplier?”

Then:

“What would you change if you could?”

Instead of:

“Is service important to you?”

Try:

“When you think about great service, what does that look like?”

Then listen.

And when you hear something interesting, don’t rush to the next question.

Stay there.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Tell me more.”

The goal of discovery isn’t to work your way through a list of questions.

It’s to understand.

And that requires curiosity.

If your sales team isn’t getting deep enough in discovery, don’t just tell them:

“Ask more questions.”

Help them build better ones.

Then practice them.

Because better questions lead to better conversations.

Better conversations lead to better understanding.

And better understanding gives you a much better chance of making the sale.