Critical thinking gets customers out of their box. During my graduate work in training and development, I had the good fortune of taking a psychology class. Toward the middle of the semester, the professor asked me if I would assist him in reviewing more than 20 years of research relating to the way people communicate. At first I was somewhat reluctant. It sounded like a lot of work, and I really didn’t have the time. Then I realized that he had been very helpful to me and very insightful when it came to the material he presented in class, and now he needed my help. So I signed on to help. Most of the material I reviewed talked about open and closed questions.
The goal is to differentiate and brand yourself, gather key information, and move your existing relationships forward. Chances are that the customer views what they are selling as somewhat similar to what the competition is providing.
There are probably few products offered in today’s market that are remarkably different from the competition and that offer significant difference. As a matter of fact, the customer probably assumes that both you and the people you compete against will provide relatively the same thing. Therefore, you are being viewed as the same as the competition, almost like a commodity. Of course you want to establish a strong business relationship, separate yourself, stand out, and become a significant partner in the customer’s practice. To make that occur, you need to engage in relevant dialogue.
During my analysis of 20 years of research on the way people communicate, I came across several interesting articles and studies that made me think a little differently about questions, how they are presented, and the way salespeople ask them to build and develop relationships. These studies focused on the fact that too many recital questions were being used.
A recital question is a question that is asked of individuals that gets them to recite what they already know. Educator Meredith Gall suggested that recital questions get someone to recall information that requires little to- no thinking.
When a customer answers a recital question, he/she recites something they already know and probably have already been asked before in previous conversations. Think of all of the questions that were asked prior to reading this. Do your questions fall under the category of recital? If so, is it possible that you might be boring your customer’s, because you are forcing them to go over the same ground they have been going over with everyone else?
How many salespeople do you think your customer sees in a day? One salesperson? Two salespeople? Could your customer see as many as 10 salespeople per day? For argument’s sake, why don’t we settle on five salespeople a day? That is 25 a week, 100 per month, and more than 1,000 sales calls and conversations per year. The customer hears the same question hundreds of times and gives the same answer.
What makes a better question?
My research suggests changing from a recital question to a dialogue question. Dialogue questions stimulate a complex thinking process involving a longer exchange that solicits opinion and thought, not just a correct answer.
When calling on customers, you want to engage them in dialogue. Your goal is to get them talking at least 70 percent of the time. Most important, when you ask a dialogue question, you create the possibility of change. And change leads to new thinking. Your goal is to craft a question that gets the customer to stop, reflect and respond with a new answer.
Charles Brennan Jr. is founder of the Brennan Sales Institute, a leading provider of advanced sales training programs. To learn more about BSI’s live and Web-based programs on advanced questioning, listening and closing skills, contact the Brennan Sales institute at 610-449-6110 or visit the website to view a series of short video clips, sample chapters and webinars.
Author
Get our newsletter and digital focus reports
Stay current on learning and development trends, best practices, research, new products and technologies, case studies and much more.
