Probing skills to uncover customers' needs

Once you know who your prospects are, how to find them, and how to get their attention, you must learn how to get them excited about what you have to say. This is a crucial part of the selling process, but it is not selling in the conventional sense of the word, because it isn't highlighting your product. The best way to get a prospect excited about your product is to develop a relationship and uncover what he or she is looking for from the product. This information can be ascertained only by listening to your prospect--not by talking about your product. Keep in mind at all times that learning what the prospect thinks is more important than talking about your product. Close your mouth and open your ears during a sales call and two things will happen: You will discover what your prospect values; and you will develop trust that forms the foundation of a good sales relationship.

Avoiding The #1 Sales Mistake

The biggest mistake telemarketers make is to tell their prospect about the product as soon as they get on the phone. They have so much product knowledge and are so eager to share it that they forget to find out what is relevant to the prospect.

This is a mistake, because it is impossible to sell without understanding the prospect's needs. Needs are discovered by asking probing questions, then listening and not talking.

What Is Sales RADAR?

You can solve the #1 mistake of not listening to your prospect, and therefore not learning about his or her needs, with RADAR. RADAR is a method for developing a relationship with a prospect and for finding out what he or she is seeking. It stands for four sets of probing questions:

* "R" is for rapport-building questions,

* "AD" is for questions that ask about difficulties,

* The second "A" is asking questions to affirm understanding of those difficulties,

* The last "R" is asking questions that will tell you the results a person is looking for from your product.

RADAR is a simple way to take daily conversation and problem-solving techniques and, combined with a structured, step-by-step system, make clients feel comfortable and special. To prepare yourself mentally for using RADAR most effectively in a sales call, don't think of yourself as being there to sell a product.

Your main purpose, rather, is to solve your clients' needs, something which can't be done with a generic pitch. When you are connected to a prospect, you already know your product, but you don't know that person's needs. The key to selling is remembering to spend your time on a sales call gently probing to learn about these needs.

RADAR skills will allow you to:

* Establish rapport that creates a bond between you and your prospect. Rapport establishes trust and enables you to learn what your prospect is seeking.

* Ascertain your prospect's needs and concerns. This is the precursor to telling the potential client you can fill those needs.

* Ask the right probing questions to establish yourself as someone who understands your prospect's needs. This is a crucial element in convincing a prospect you are someone he or she can trust and work with.

Go beyond a prospect's initial statement of objectives and uncover results he or she seeks from your product. By tapping into this motivation, you will be able to position yourself as the person to fill those needs, and you'll gain a powerful advantage over your competition.

Rapport-Building questions

Rapport is the foundation for RADAR and the precursor to the rest of the selling steps. Rapport-building questions get people talking to you. When they talk to you about little things they are comfortable in sharing, they'll begin to feel safe and secure with you. This will help them share bigger things, such as what they need from your product and their ultimate goals.

Rapport-building questions establish trust and friendship. This friendship breaks down the defensive wall that naturally exists between prospect and salesperson when they first meet. Here are some sample rapport-building questions:

* How long have you been in business?

* What made you choose this area for your business?

* How did you get into this line of work?

* What made you decide to open your own business?

* I see you're active with your local scout troop. What is your involvement?

* Based on your accent, you're not from the U.S. What brought you to America?

Difficulty Questions

Your job as a salesperson is to solve your prospects' problems and satisfy their needs. To do this you must know what your prospects' problems and needs are and convey the urgency of their concerns. Although each of your clients may have similar needs, you will not know the specifics of each client's situation and his or her most pressing needs unless you ask about the difficulties and problems first.

It's crucial to ask prospects to describe difficulties to you, in their own words. You may assume you understand a prospect's problems, but you may be assuming incorrectly. Only by allowing the prospect to express difficulties himself or herself can you find out exactly what needs to be fixed.

Here are a few examples of difficulty questions:

* What are your biggest difficulties with delivery?

* What are your biggest difficulties with vendors?

* What are your greatest concerns about the competition?

* Why do you feel (name of company) is your greatest competition?

* What is the most important benefit you offer your customers?

* What makes you different from the competition?

* What is the greatest challenge in getting customers to appreciate all you have to offer?

* What is the biggest problem you've had with a supplier?

* What is the biggest difficulty you are currently facing?

Affirmation Questions

The purpose of affirmation questions is two-fold: They allow you to check if you are understanding what a prospect has said to you, and they allow you to notify the person you are talking to that he or she is understood.

Affirmation questions are essential because the potential for misunderstanding someone is so great. Only by accurately ascertaining what your client needs can you sell effectively.

Also, remember that every businessperson is "yessed" nearly to death by employees, contractors and salespeople who do things incorrectly after they claimed to understand instructions. If you let prospects know they are talking to someone who understands them, they will want to work with you.

Not only will affirmation questions allow you to do your job right the first time, they will strengthen the bond between you and your prospects as they think to themselves, "This person understands me." Also note that these questions get prospects to say yes to their needs.

Here are some examples of affirmation questions:

* If I understand you correctly, what you are saying is....

* So, your main concern is..., isn't it?

* The main problem you need to solve is....Is that right?

* If I could solve..., would that give you what you need?

* Is what you want me to give you...?

Results Questions

Results questions are the most difficult to have answered. People are reluctant to tell you their innermost reasons for what they want. Sometimes they don't even know themselves. You must probe gently, listen carefully and read between the lines.

The following are examples of results questions:

* What would it mean to you if (main need) was fulfilled?

* By my delivering what I promised, how do you see yourself benefitting?

* How will my coming through for you help you reach your goals?

* What is the end result you want?

* How do you see yourself personally benefitting by us working together?

* How do you envision your business growing by us working together?

* What will a (X percent) growth in your department mean to you?

* Where does a (X percent) return on investment fit into your overall goals strategy?

* What is the main satisfaction or objective I can fulfill for you?

Avoiding The 5 RADAR Obstacles

1. When people find that RADAR doesn't work, they are usually asking yes or no questions. RADAR questions must be open-ended. If you must ask a yes or no question such as, "Is this your own business?" follow-up with a question such as, "How did you get into this line of work?"

2. Don't be afraid to probe. If a prospect hurries you, it's usually not worth doing the sales presentation. If you're being rushed, try this response. Say, "I need to know my clients so I can serve them effectively. If I can't ask you a few questions, I won't be able to serve you as effectively."

3. When you begin your dialogue of RADAR questions, tell prospects you'd like to ask them a few questions to save them time by determining if your services are appropriate for them. By doing this, you are offering the prospect two possible benefits: saving time and putting them at ease by possibly not having to buy from you.

4. People like to feel that they don't have to buy from you, but during the course of the sales call, they answer your questions and tell you why they need you. The key is, they still feel as though they're in control.

The perfect phrase is: "To save you time and see if my ideas/product is even appropriate for you, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

5. The fifth and most deadly sales sin regarding RADAR is not using it. Reps who are overconfident in their presentation and understanding of the prospect's needs go right into talking about what they have to offer, rather then getting the prospect clearly tuned into why both parties are speaking--to help one another.

Summary

RADAR is not used to sell your product. It is used to learn what your prospect is looking for. You must learn the needs of your prospect before you can position your product to solve those needs. If you use RADAR on each sales call, you will be exceptionally effective. Most telemarketers don't delve deeply enough into their prospect's specific needs to find out what it means to have those needs satisfied.

A salesperson makes a sale when he or she goes beyond a prospect's statement of "I want more business" to discover that the prospect really wants a chance to expand his or her stores or fight off competition.

So relax, talk to your prospect, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Conversation is your greatest sales tool. And remember, if you have the natural skills for the greatest sales tool, you also have the natural skills for RADAR.

Mark Anthony is president of Training For Success, Inc., headquartered in New York City. Training For Success specializes in training telemarketers in RADAR and other specialized techniques to improve closing percentages and improve customer retention.

Copyright Technology Marketing Corporation Nov 1995
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