It’s not what salespeople say to a buyer, but rather what they ask that makes them stand out from the competition, says sales coach Lee B. Salz. In his new book, “Sales Differentiation,” Salz emphasizes that mixing in the right types of questions is also important.
“Challenge questions expose areas that the buyer perceives can be better or different than what they have today. Positioning questions expose areas that a buyer does not perceive could be better or different. Buyers look at the product or service they have and accept performance as ‘industry standard.’ What if you possess differentiators that can disrupt their status quo perception?” Salz states.
For example, if your company has the ability to improve speed/quality or reduce costs to create a superior solution than a buyer has today, challenge questions will not bring that conversation to the forefront because the buyers don’t know it could be better or different. Lecturing them on the differentiation without first gaining interest in having the conversation fails to engage them.
As part of pre-call planning, sales reps should craft positioning questions that expose interest in the aspects that differentiate your business. These questions help your buyers think differently about the solution they have or could have and disrupt the status quo.
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