The Top 15 Customer Questions… And How To Handle Them
Handling Objections 06,2010
You’ve just delivered an excellent sales presentation. The prospect is impressed and has lots of questions to ask. But are you ready? One wrong answer, and the sales opportunity may evaporate before your eyes.
To help you prepare for the key questions you are likely to be asked, here is a list of The Top 15 Questions buyers are likely to ask in relation to high-value B2B solutions. The list includes some of the so-called ‘killer questions’ that have the potential to stop the unprepared salesperson in his or her tracks.
Remember: Rehearsing the answers to these key questions won’t just help you to impress the customer; it will also increase your level of comfort, credibility and effectiveness throughout the sales process.
When The Customer Is Exploring Alternatives:
1. Why should we choose your company?
2. What are the advantages over other methods/approaches/products/services?
3. In what way(s) are you better than your competitors?
4. Why should we do it now, as opposed to next year?
When The Customer Is Looking For Confidence:
5. Has the product/service been bought by others in our industry?
6. Do you have an office in our market/territory/region?
7. What sort of strength/financial backing does your company have?
8. Has the product/service been tested, verified or certified by any independent organization or body?
9. Can this product/service be tested/piloted? Is there the possibility of a pilot/proof of concept?
The Cost-Benefit Equation:
10. Our business is different… How can this work in our business?
11. I question your figures… Can that really be achieved?
12. Can the benefits be substantiated?
13. What is the return on investment?
14. What is the overall cost? But surely the cost will end up being higher than that, when we take into consideration other costs (total cost of ownership)?
15. Why is it so expensive? What is the total cost of ownership (including installation, maintenance, training, etc.)? What is the payback on the investment?
Of course, then there will likely be a range of questions relating to details of your proposition – things along the lines of: How does it work?… Is it compatible with…? How long does it take?…. What skills are required?… What about ongoing maintenance/upgrades/support?… etc.
The Importance of Preparation
Remember:
- The more questions a potential customer has for you, the better; it shows that he or she is interested.
- In the heat of a sales presentation, even an expert can stumble when presented with a complex or difficult question. Therefore, relying on ad-lib answers is not enough.
- The true sales professional creates a list of all the questions/objections likely to be received, and carefully prepares the most effective responses.
So start with the list above. Feel free to add any other objections or questions that you, or any of your colleagues, might have already been asked, and keep compiling this list over time. In each case, remember to always write out the appropriate response, rehearse it and then put it in a folder that can be used by any new salesperson.
For more tips on handling objections, see ‘Handling Customer Questions & Objections’.
Posted by Ray Collis
on 5:31 pm. Filed under Handling Objections.
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