Probe Architecture: Peel the Onion

I use the word architecture because thats what needs to happen: You must design smart questions to ask. Probes unquestionably persuade more powerfully than any other form of verbal behavior. The success of a sales call depends more than anything else on how thorough your needs analysis is. The effort you invest in developing and asking smart questions to uncover customer needs, biases, perceptions, and fears that are not normally revealed to salespeople will pay off handsomely. The ultimate prize will go to the one who asks the best questions. I refer to the practice of asking smart questions as peeling the onion. As with dicing an onion, stupid questions (common questions) may cause your customers eyes to glaze over and communicate impatience. The more layers you can peel away from suspicious, apprehensive customers, the sooner you get to the heart of their needs. Ask stupid questions and you get useless information, probably the same information your competitor walked away with. I think Werner Heisberg, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, said it best, Nature does not reveal its secrets, it only responds to our method of questioning.

The object is to design probes to encourage your customers to reveal their needs-peel the onion. Standard practice is to distinguish between open and closed probes, but dont limit yourself to only these two.

Open probes are used to get the customer talking, to divulge information, and to perhaps reveal unexpected information. They get the prospect to explain and talk openly about their business and current situation. Open probes generate a talkative, conversational response. Some authors suggest the five Ws (who, what, where, when, or why) are good open questions to start with. I disagree. I consider them closed questions that can often be answered with one- or two-word answers. I offer the following open probe prompts:

Tell me about ...

Explain to me ...

In what way ...

Help me understand ...

Can you elaborate ...

Share with me ...

Please tell me how ...

How else ...

What do you mean by ...

What are your thoughts/ideas/experiences/reflections ...

If you could build or design the perfect , what would it look like ... ?

These are excellent, field-tested prompts used to encourage a talkative response. Simply tell your customer up front that you need to ask questions to better understand their business. Customers love to talk about their business, their job, and their company. You cant ask too many questions. However, if your customer becomes impatient with your questioning, simply restate your objective and perhaps reschedule another appointment. Dont let their anxiousness draw you into a response before you understand their business. Be patient.

Closed probes are used to get very specific information. They usually limit the response to one-word answers. Closed probes are less powerful and have an uncanny ability to increase tension. They can be intimidating to certain personality styles. The other concern is that they end the conversation. Once a closed probe is answered you have to start another conversation. Closed probes should only be used for verification, commitment, or confirming (closing). Examples of closed prompts include the words:

have

will

wont

cant

shall

An excellent strategy to help identify the decision maker (the bag of money) is to use these three closed probes when talking with your customer or with senior management: 1. Do you (Does X) make the decisions?

2. Do you (Does X) have a budget?

3. Do you (Does X) talk with anyone else prior to a decision?

My experience shows that the customer will answer yes to the first two questions but introduce a second party when asked the third question. This is a red flag because the additional person is often the final decision maker. You must understand who is involved and how the final decision is made. Your objective now is to get an audience with that person, hopefully with the support of your initial contact. This simple strategy is so overlooked and yet effective that it alone will help increase your close ratio. We often waste a lot of time by getting sucked into dealing with the wrong people, people who think they have the final authority to purchase.

Reflective probes are used to identify personal biases of the customer, which is exactly what you want. Customers often answer questions with an eye to the corporation, answering with the best interests of the corporation in mind. However, you need to differentiate yourself by understanding and satisfying the personal biases and preferences of the buyer, the bag of money. Reflective probes are very effective for drawing out background information, personal feelings, and opinions. To get past common corporate responses, ask uncommon questions. Design specific, reflective probes, that encourage your customer to tell you things not told to the competition. The decision to buy from you will be based on satisfying both corporate needs as well as personal biases and preferences. Your customer can decide on vendor A or B, both are capable of doing a good job, but the final decision comes down to which vendor recognized and satisfied all aspects of their decision. For example, the customer may only have two years experience with the current company but 15 years experience in the industry. You want to tap into his or her total experience. That information can help you design a solution that satisfies both corporate needs and personal biases. In the training business, role playing is a good example-some customers like them and some are biased against feeling they are too artificial and ineffective. Know the human side of your customer. The key is to recognize your customers work experience and ask well-designed reflective probes. Reflective probes include the words:

feel

opinion

perception

sense

personally

aware

belief

view

experience previous

Examples include; What are your personal feelings about . . .? or What is your perception of ...? or What is your previous experience with ...? A favorite of mine is If it were your company what would you do? That usually gets them going.

Youll be amazed at the unexpected responses, yet pleased with the helpful information reflective probes reveal.

Conversational probes represent a style of questioning that is gaining in popularity. I have been experimenting with conversational probes, and along with other sales entrepreneurs I have found that its a much more relaxed, natural approach. Conversational probes are used to start, encourage, and maintain a normal conversation. The questions themselves are not anything special or unique, but I suggest its a matter of using a mixture of open, closed, and reflective probes while pursing a normal conversation.

Quite frankly, I suggest you quit worrying about labeling your probes opened or closed and simply ask your customer a series of smart questions and enjoy a professional, social type of conversation. Continue your conversational probes until all the customers needs and expectations have been explored and all the parameters to a possible solution have been covered. In other words, keep asking questions until a solution presents itself, until a 100-watt light bulb goes off in your head with a solution that excites both you and your customer. I would suggest that in a typical sales call you should be asking upwards of 50-60 questions. A lot of these questions are what I refer to as clarification questions. For example, if the customer responds to your What is important to you? question with Service is important then you must clarify it by asking What does good service look like to you? Likewise, if they respond with Quality is important or Delivery is important you must clarify by asking exactly what they mean by quality or delivery. The danger is sales representatives are far too zealous to

respond rather than taking the time to fully understand the customers issues. Hence, by using a combination of conversational, reflective, and clarification probes, it doesnt take long to ask 50-60 questions.

Should our communication strategy change when talking to a customer versus a friend or spouse? It shouldnt. Keep it simple and relaxed. Ive yet to hear a salesperson say, I look forward to getting home and asking my spouse a bunch of open and closed probes! Imagine your spouse responding with, Honey, Id appreciate it if you didnt ask me so many closed probes, please ask me more open probes. Sounds a little ridiculous, I agree. My point is this: Why be guided by a mechanical, clinical approach to probing during the day, then take a relaxed, more natural social approach with friends and family. Adapt one simple, consistent approach that accommodates both business and social interactions. You will feel a lot more confident and relaxed in both kinds of interactions.

How often has your sales manager questioned you about open or closed probes? Ive yet to hear a sales manager ask, Sounds like you had a great call. Congratulations. Tell me, how many open and closed probes did you ask? Who cares! As if we dont have enough to think about during a sales call. The point is you closed the sale with a win-win solution.

I appreciate that my probing approach may be unconventional, but its proving to be a simple, less stressful approach and is certainly appreciated by my customers. Its a refreshing change for both parties.

In their unbridled enthusiasm or nervousness, salespeople often overlook an important aspect of the discovery stage-asking permission to ask questions. Asking permission can be as simple as, Ms. Smith, weve been able to help hundreds of companies with various training solutions. We may be able to help you. I dont know if we can or not but to determine that, may I ask you a few questions? Alternatively, you might ask, To make the best use of our time today Id like to ask you a few questions. Would you mind? By asking permission, you help relax the situation. Your customer becomes a willing participant in the task of finding a possible solution that makes life a little easier.

Once you have their permission (which will be 99.9% of the time), you now have license to proceed with a series of planned, well-thought-out questions. The secrets to a smooth and speedy close are often contained in the answers. Your customers answers help pinpoint the area where you may be able to help them. Its like a game. Questions unlock the secrets to closing the sale; ask the right questions, get the right information, and present the right solution. The quality of your questions and your confidence to ask them in a logical, fluid sequence is what demonstrates to the potential customer that you are a competent professional.

Tim Commandment #5

Use quality questions to unlock the secrets to confirming more sales. Ask: Am I asking enough smart questions? Do I understand their needs and expectations?

As the questioning proceeds, your customer is drawn more and more into the conversation because answering demands total attention. The average person speaks at approximately 130 words per minute, but can think at approximately 1,000 words per minute. While you are talking (feature dumping) its very easy for the customer to listen as well as think about other things including possible objections, problems at work or home, an argument with the teenager last night, missing a Visa payment, or the prediction of rain for tomorrows 2:30 tee-off time. Questions minimize mental drift and help keep control of the sales call. The longer you talk, the more opportunity the customer has to drift into another world. However, the instant you ask a question the customer snaps back to the conversation and refocuses on you. Control lies with the person asking the questions. Your goal is to do more listening than talking. As long as youre talking, youre going to hear stuff you already know. Think about it. To learn, you must be silent and listen. By the way, silent and listen contain the same letters and I find it interesting that ear is found in learn and earn.

Your needs analysis will reveal one of three possible scenarios. The customer is aware of your product