Listening intently to your prospects takes the guesswork out of selling.

by Bill Brooks   Imagine what it would be like if doctors acted like many salespeople. You might walk into a doctor’s office one day and be greeted with a scenario like this:

"Boy, are you in luck today!" he’d greet you.

"I don’t feel so lucky–my head hurts like crazy!" you respond.

"Know why you’re lucky?" he asks, ignoring your comment. "We’re running a block-busting closeout sale on artificial hearts–getting ready for the new models!"

"But, Doc," you protest, "it’s my head that hurts, not my heart."

"Yessir! I can fix you up with this ‘Super Pumper’ model, which is loaded with options, for the unbelievably low price of $40,000. That’s a 40% savings. Besides, it’s all covered by your insurance. Could I schedule you for installation Tuesday, or would Thursday be more convenient for you?"

If you are like most of us you would run–not walk–to the nearest exit.

I don’t want to belabor the point by stretching the scenario further, and I don’t want to leave the impression that salespeople are really that insensitive. But sometimes, it helps to look at a ridiculous example in order to detect a fatal flaw in our own selling patterns.

Selling’s fatal flaw

As one who trains thousands of salespeople every year, I have observed that most salespeople talk their way out of more sales than they listen their way into. People who subscribe to the "jawbone theory" of selling lost many sales they could have made because they focus more on what they want to happen than on what their prospects want to happen.

Probing gives you more selling power

Questioning skills are at the very core of any successful selling strategy. When you question correctly, you look beneath the surface to discover and reveal what’s really going on in the prospect’s mind and heart.

In our terminology, we call it probing. The dictionary defines a probe as an instrument used to penetrate, usually for the purpose of measuring or investigating. As an action verb, to probe means to interview, to ask questions and listen, to observe, to study, and so on.

Probing enables you to do two very important things. First, it enables you to discover what the prospect wants and the conditions under which the person will buy what you’re selling. It keeps you from wasting a lot of time on prospects who won’t buy what you’re selling under any conditions. But, more importantly, it enables you to discover needs you can meet and suggest ways to meet them.

Second, probing enables prospects to identify, clarify, and express their wants or needs. Many people have only a vague feeling that they want something but don’t have the foggiest idea what it is. Others may have a deep desire they’ve never even admitted to themselves. Some may think they want one thing, when what they really want is something entirely different. Still others know exactly what they want but don’t know how to go about getting it.

In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that if you can’t get a prospect to discuss and somewhat extensively verbalize specific needs, desires, wishes, or alternatives, you likely don’t have a qualified prospect!

It works like this: If a prospect won’t reveal conditions, terms, or circumstances around a purchase decision to you, then that person is not going to feel confident enough in you to go ahead and commit to a major decision that involves time, money, emotion, commitment, or risk. It’s as simple as that.

By skillfully and sensitively probing, you can take the guesswork out of selling–and buying. You can avoid the amateurish technique of going from one house to another and asking, "Is this it?" You can become a highly respected professional who renders a valuable service to your customers–a service for which you can expect to be paid very well.

How to "listen" people into buying

Get yourself a leather binder–a really nice one that contains a legal pad. Treat it as if it were the most valuable piece of equipment you have, for it may very well prove to be just that.

Once you are ready to start the questioning, open it up as the prospect watches, take out a pen, and say, "In order for me to be of service to you, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Then stop! Don’t say another word until the person gives you permission to ask those questions. I can’t emphasize enough how important this waiting interval is; it really sets a pattern for everything that follows throughout the course of your sales interview. You’ll find yourself "listening" your way into more sales than you ever imagined.

Bill Brooks, CSP, CPAE, CMC, CPCM is a former CEO of a $300 million corporation and two-time sales award winner from an international sales force of 8,000. He has spoken or consulted in over 300 different industries. Copyright© 2000-2001, Bill Brooks. All rights reserved. For information about how to bring him to your next meeting or convention, contact the Frog Pond Group at 800/704-FROG or e-mail susie@frogpondgroup.com.

Photo illustration by Joel Mathews; photos © Corbis Images.

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