Smart Questions Ask to customer. We IT guys always goes to customer/client on initial round of discussion with sales team to understand their requirements, challenges, problems so that we can become their trusted advisor to recommend appropriate software solution. We usually directly stuck into software point of view and start thinking, asking questions what information required for software. For example, if we are going for ERP sales call. We usually go into what ERP is required as a basic information or how to position ERP without getting enough information or without getting into what Actual Customer want? what is his Requirement? What he is looking for?
So here is catch without listening to customer needs and collecting facts we started focusing to position ERP package.
The other day I was thinking what one question consistently helps us understand our customer’s stories better than any other? So I come up with these common questions:
- What is your strategy for business growth in 2-5 years? Or Where do you see your business in five years from now? Or What you want to achieve in in your business? What’s your vision for your department or organization?
- Could you talk a little bit about your present situation?
- What are Your business needs/requirement?
- What’s holding you back from where you are & where you want to be?
- Why isn’t your current technology is working to fix this problem/service/issue for you right now?
- Tell me about a nightmare problem that might have occurred before?
- What impact is that having on your business?
- What if I was in their shoes? (very important to keep in mind, once you got some basic info during discussion so we need to put over selves in their situation then we will be able to grasp more accurately what they are looking for …)
- Ask carefully questions based on previous responses (normal process we all go through in all meetings and these questions are the key question to lead the discussion and get actually what you want to get from customer.)
- What are your top priorities when making this decision?
You are meeting customer not to interrogate therefore we should not go through robotically all questions. Its human-to-human relationship and we need to act like that J
Bounce question before you close for the meeting:
- What’s the best way to communicate with you moving forward?
One of the top performing sales guys I used to work with, one time told me, “never ask a question you don’t want the answer to.”
#99 Tip before going for meeting: Get some basic info on customer Industry, it should not be surprise for you.
Share with me your thoughts, feedback to improve this and let’s try to make our each and every meeting to achieve what customer is looking for…