Research indicates that most customers buy because of the sales rep’s ability to leave insights and provide education that matters most to the customer. But how can a sales rep know what information to leave behind? Is it specific questions that should be asked? How do we ask the right questions in order to pinpoint the exact needs of the customer?

Buyers buy products as solutions to achieve specific goals. Either they are in a state of growth and their processes are unable to achieve specific goals, or they are in trouble because they are behind on targets and KPIs.

Having acquainted oneself with the company KPI’s and key issues, a classic question could be, “If you had a magic wand, what would you like to change in your current processes, procedures, or organization as a whole? Describe the “As is situation” and what the “desired situation” would be.

Given time, the customer would be able to bring forth an image of clearly defined issues, and the sales rep could check if they have a customized solution to offer.

The key is to do some research on your customer’s company so you can ask two to three insightful questions about the company’s strategy that shows you are interested in their business and not only focused on making the sale. This will get them to open up to you while you quickly build credibility.

What customers are really looking for in a salesperson is that they know the customer’s needs better than the customer. Taking this into account, questions that get the customer to think differently about their business and teaches them to rethink their current perspectives and approaches are the questions to ask. You know when you have asked a great question as the response is normally – “That’s interesting I hadn’t thought about it like that before.”

An effective strategy for selling is to focus on what others have offered the customer in the past by probing for more information, and in turn, differentiate yourself from that solution. Address the issue that they might have, and get them interested and curious about how your solution is the better choice.

The reason for asking questions is to get to know what the buyer is looking for based on what kind of further probing to do .The probe should steer the discussions towards what you can offer in the form of providing a good solution therefore enabling a stimulating discussion. This creates an empathizing situation making that much easier to get your points across effectively. And then set up the right solution to close the business.

How do you prepare for the Face-to-Face interaction? Are you effective at finding the exact need by asking the right questions?