One of the biggest issues for sales people is knowing the right questions to ask customers.

In our experience many people complain of not knowing how to structure questions, or knowing what type to ask and when to ask them.  In fact, we have found that many people are often caught wanting in the questioning department and suffer from what we call ‘amnesia questionitis’.

Why is this so?  Why are so many people paralysed when it comes to the vital skill of questioning?

If you have been around any children aged from 3-6 years old you will know that they do not suffer from ‘amnesia questionitis’.

In fact they never stop asking questions.  It has been shown that asking questions and seeking answers comes naturally to all of us and as children we excell in this area.   They also excel at listening too.  The two skills go hand in hand.

Everyone is born curious to some extent that is how we find out about the world.  As children we want to know how things work, why this happens, where things come from, etc.  Children will keep asking until they get a satisfactory answer.

Only the other night my eldest son asked me if I was ever afraid of the dark.  It was a great question because it showed me a number of things about my 11 year old son:

1.    He still had the desire to know about things and felt safe and confident to ask me
2.    He clearly wanted to talk about this now
3.    He wanted to understand why this happens and was he the only one it happened to

As we explored the topic he realised that most people feel or have felt afraid of the dark at some stage and that it is quite normal.  I shared with him how I felt and what I used to do about it. He also came to his own conclusion that it was his imagination that was making him feel afraid at times and that he could control that too if he wanted and how funny it was that you could let your mind trick you.  We had a great chat and it was easy and enlightening.

I have lost count of all the questions my children have asked me to date, but I love this quality about my children.  By them asking me so many different questions I have learned so much about them, myself and the world we live in. For instance I have been able to answer questions I didn’t get answers to when I was little but had been on my mind since I was 6 or 7.  I want to point out that I don’t always answer all of my children’s questions, I have also taught them how to answer question for themselves through reasoning skills and self inquiry.  When we can’t answer something the saying in our family is ‘Google is your friend’.  My mother laughs every time I tell her about my children’s questioning abilities because she says ‘that sounds exactly like you’.

You have probably gathered by now, especially those who have been reading my articles for some time or those how know from my work that I never stop asking questions.  It is a life skill that I cherish dearly.  It has opened up so many doors for me and made me a much better person for doing so.

So it saddens me when I meet people who feel they are unable to ask questions or do not know where to start or feel they need to be given permission to do so.

What happened to their natural ability to ask questions?   It seems that as we grow up, many of us seem to lose the desire to ask questions.  Maybe it was because we lost some of initial curiosity because we get caught up in the day to day grind and just want to rest.

Maybe we have been taught to not question.  Often times at school we were taught to receive the ‘right’ answer rather than to question it.  Although I, personally seemed to ignore this one at my peril sometimes.

Maybe some children were never listened too and instead ignored so they never had their questions answered so they eventually gave up.Others of us became self conscious, wanting to fit and so didn’t question the prevailing paradigms of the time or situation.  Or we did not want to appear stupid if we as a ‘dumb’ question.  Again I, ignored these too.

I find when we facilitate workshops that I have to state to the participants that there is no such thing as a dumb question and you should question things.  I encourage them to test assumptions, work things through, ask ‘why?’ and ‘how?’, etc. I inform them that I am not there to tell them what to think but to show them how to think.

When prospecting or selling I often say to people ‘What is the worst thing you will hear if you ask someone for a sale or an appointment?’  a ‘No’.  Big deal.  At least you know.  The worst thing is not asking at all because then you will never know.

Asking questions implies that you are using ‘thinking’ as a skill.    Thinking requires effort.  As Henry Ford said ‘Thinking is the hardest job going around that is why most people don’t do it.’

Maybe people are lazy and just don’t care.  But I don’t think so.  Why would we get so many requests about how to ask good questions?  Yes there is skill in knowing what questions to ask,  when and how to ask them – for instance we have a workshop solely dedicated to this topic.

However, the purpose of this piece is not to go into what questions to ask but why are so we many of us lacking in this area?

There is a big risk of not asking questions

When we don’t ask questions we are at risk of accepting what we are told is true.  This can then lead to all sorts of issues such as:

• being told something is true when it is not
• making assumptions and being caught out taking the wrong approach
• being misled and losing out as a result
• acting unwisely and causing harm to yourself or others
• giving people what they don’t need
• creating more problems than there were before

We need to bring back our 6 year olds – in a slightly more professional form of course and find and reignite our natural talent for questioning again because:

As Arlene Harder stated:

“When we are able to push ourselves beyond what we assume we know and what others tell us is true, and when we explore whether or not the opinions of others make sense to us, we can see the world with new eyes.

The more we are willing to go beyond easy answers, the more likely it is that we will find common ground with others. Also, knowing that others are asking the same questions we are asking, even though they may arrive at a different conclusion, connects us all in a new way.”

Effective questioning is a vital life skill that should be cherished and exercised on a very regular basis.  It affects every aspect of our lives on professional and personal levels.

Questioning does not tell you what to think it shows you how to think.

So ask yourself the question: “how do you encourage effective questioning in yourself and your team?’

Remember: Everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett is Founder & Managing Director of BARRETT

The other week I ran a webinar for SmartCompany.com.au on ‘How to clearly manage and measure your sales team’. During the webinar I was asked many questions, one of which came from a senior sales leader, “With some time to reflect over the Christmas break, what is the one thing I should focus on getting right for my business?”

Given that business as usual is not ‘usual’ anymore, I suggested the following:

1. Review your business and sales strategy

• Do you have the right strategy in place?
• What has changed over the last 12 months
• How has your client mix changed? i.e. are your key accounts still key? What emerging markets have come into play that you need to be in?
• Does your tactical marketing plan still support your sales and business strategy?

2. Do you have the right sales team structure in place?

• Is your current sales team ‘fit’ enough to deliver your strategy?
• If not, can you get them to the standard where they will be competitive?
• If the answer is ‘No’, then what types of sales force do you need?
• Do you need more reps in the field, more people on the phones, or do you need a different type of sales force?
• In an ideal world what would your sales force look like? How would it function if it were to deliver effectively on your sales strategy?

By asking yourself these questions and reflecting on the current state of play in your market and business you can imagine what it could be like.  The market and how you intend to apply your strategy will dictate the kind of sales force you need.

Do you have the sales force your strategy needs for 2010?

Not sure? Then I recommend you read these previous posts Success is a moving platform- How do I keep my sales team on it and Create your ideal sales force blueprint for more insight and guidance.

On a final note for the year end, I would like to thank the my team at Barrett and for the opportunity to write to an ever growing readership; I have been writing since February 2007 and the feedback I receive has been fantastic.

And don’t forget to complete the Barrett poll on The 12 Sales Trends of 2010. We want to know what you think will be the number one sales trend in 2010.

We will publish the results of the most important Sales Trends for 2010 in January. Make sure you are subscribed to our blog to receive in depth articles on The 12 Sales Trends of 2010, starting in January with the No. 1 trend as voted by you our readers.

On that note I wish everyone associated with Barrett, our team, our clients, our suppliers, our  supporters and our families all the very best for 2010 and look forward to contributing more articles on the wonderful world of selling.

Remember, Everybody lives by selling something.

See you in 2010.

Cheers
Sue

Author: Sue Barrett is Founder & Managing Director of BARRETT

Whether we are working for a private or public company, a “not for profit” or government institution, all of us are in some way competing for access to a revenue source to fund our existence.

How capable people are to take on the responsibility for improving the revenue line of a company is a hot topic in today’s competitive market.

Research shows that no longer can companies and their people rely on their technical competence, passive referrals, reputation, brand or blanket advertising to bring in new business and revenue streams as they may have done in the past.  They also need to effectively self- promote and prospect for new business using professional and ethical sales strategies, and demonstrate real value for money.

Visibility Management
In short, we need to be visible and manage our visibility so that customers know who we are and what we can do.

The research shows we need to make our competency visible to people who need to know about us. Therefore, companies and sales people must first be VISIBLE to be RECOGNISED for what they do well and they must be RECOGNISED before they can be REWARDED!

Social media is an emerging avenue that makes getting noticed and making our capabilities visible easier if done properly, however on its own it is unlikely to yield and drive the type of qualified sales leads we want in the time frame and volume we need to keep us viable.  Social media is visibility management and an education and influencing forum, however it is only part of a prospecting strategy.

So, because of this we need to make sure that our sales teams are fully equipped to prospect effectively and regularly or else we are at risk of missing sales opportunities.  Firstly, let’s quickly define Prospecting.

Prospecting is… The identification and pursuit of new business opportunities in new and/or existing accounts.

Prospecting requires sales people to establish contact with people who might buy your products or services.  Whether it’s phone prospecting, face-to-face prospecting or group prospecting, in-bound or outbound, nothing gets sold until sales people get in front of or talk to potential buyers.

However, the sad truth is that many people find prospecting very hard work. In fact, research shows that only about 20% of sales people are fully effective when prospecting.

That leaves approximately 80% of people struggling with the function of prospecting.  In most cases it is not due to lack of knowledge, skill, ability or talent, rather most people are afraid to prospect due to the attitudes and beliefs they have formed about prospecting over the years. This fear is known as Call Reluctance®.

So, why focus on Call Reluctance®?
Barrett has assessed over 50,000 people on their Call Reluctance® profiles and we can attest to the fact that most sales people have some form of prospecting hesitation or Call Reluctance® which affects their sales performance.  Our work has allowed us to develop a deep understanding of prospecting hesitation and call reluctant behaviour and the accompanying attitudes across sales teams and businesses cultures.

If you are not convinced by our word, here is some of the research by BSRP which has been compiled over the last 40 years.

• Across industries, the sales people who sell the most are those who are most willing to get in front of prospective buyers on a consistent, daily basis. They sell more because regardless of their talent, experience, or knowledge, they always have new people to sell to.
• 80% of all sales people fail to complete their first year because of prospecting distress with their energy directed towards coping rather than prospecting strategies.
• 40% of experienced sales people report one or more episodes of Call Reluctance® severe enough to threaten their career.
• The hesitation to initiate first contact with prospective buyers on a consistent daily basis is responsible for the failure of more competent, motivated, capable, revenue generating sales people than any other single factor. Nothing else even comes close.
• Despite content or quality, no training can earn back what it costs unless sales people initiate contact in sufficient numbers with new and existing clients.
• Research indicates that a prospecting hesitant sales person can cost your company 15 new units of business per month.
• Non-hesitant sales people are five times more productive than hesitant sales people.
• The only significant predictor for success in sales is the number of contacts initiated with prospective buyers on a consistent basis!

The bad news
The bad news is that call reluctant behaviours are highly contagious as they are learnt from being around other people who are Call Reluctant®.  It can take as little as 6 to 8 weeks to become contaminated.

At last count there are 12 Call Reluctant® types that can keep people from prospecting effectively due to fear.   Here are some of the marker behaviours from the more common types that may give you clues that you or some of your people may be suffering from Call Reluctance®:

• Over-reliance on information such as brochures and technical specs; over-invests energy in always getting ready; never enough information or feel adequately prepared; over-analyses and under acts
• Nagging guilt and shame associated with being in a sales career generally based on negative stereotypes;  may use ‘deflected identities’ to disguise the sales role; tries to be overly positive and instead comes across as insincere
• Hesitates to prospect or close sales due to fear of appearing rude, pushy or intrusive; says ‘yes’ when should say ‘no’; avoids confrontation and needs to feel liked; can gossip to remain ‘in the loop’
• Overly-concerned with professional image and credibility; may see prospecting as demeaning and unnecessary; doesn’t listen; may talk over people; needs to be seen as better than average

The good news
The good news is that prospecting hesitations and fears can be overcome and unlearnt, thus freeing people to prospect in a consistent and confident manner.  Whether you identify prospecting hesitations and fears via a purpose built assessment or your own observations, the first step is to recognise and acknowledge if prospecting hesitation and Call Reluctance® is holding your or your sales team hostage.

The second step is to put in place strategies to eliminate these unhelpful attitudes and behaviours.  This can be done by giving people access to effective prospecting skills training that shows how to confidently and competently prospect in a professional manner.  If hesitation or fear still persists, then we suggest that you invest in training and coaching that gives people insight into their specific prospecting hesitations and access to well researched, behavioural changes strategies that can be applied to overcomes these specific types of fears.

Prospecting hesitation is preventable so watch who you let near your mind.

PS Don’t forget to complete the Barrett poll on The 12 Sales Trends of 2010. We want to know what you think will be the number one sales trend in 2010.

We will publish the results of the most important Sales Trends for 2010 in January. Make sure you are subscribed to our blog to receive in depth articles on The 12 Sales Trends of 2010, starting in January with the No. 1 trend as voted by you our readers.

Remember: Everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett is Founder & Managing Director of BARRETT

Style adaptability is where a person can read another person’s preferred communication style and adjusts their own communication style to that of the other person, thus making shared communication and understanding easier.  It is imperative to the principle of exchange and critical to any sales role, yet it is often one of the most poorly executed skills.

Time after time we come across teams of sales people who have no conscious idea about how to adapt their style to that of another.  Instead when they come across differences, communication usually breaks down and they will speak about the other using derogatory terms such as calling them an idiot, or moron, etc.  Sound familiar?

Those who are adaptable often do so unconsciously, it just seems to work for them.  For the rest of us, we are often left wondering if we have landed on another planet when we meet with people who are different.  These interactions often leave everyone confused and worse off.  People make judgments about difference claiming them to be difficult because they are seeing things from their own perspective and missing vital clues that could have been dealt with simply and easily.

A case study

We worked with a Customer Service team who supply scientific instrumentation equipment and consumables to scientific and medical laboratories.  Our role was to help improve their customer service and telephone selling skills.   When we started discussing dealing with customers, they told us that almost all their customers were difficult and rude.  When asked why this was, they advised:

“They are so abrupt and blunt.  They never say ‘hi’ or ‘how are you going’.  They are cold and seem to ignore us.  Some are really pushy and always seem to be in a hurry, while others always want too much information and take forever to make a decision. It drives us crazy.”

We acknowledged their feedback and then introduced them to a 4-quadrant Communication Style model. We use this as a starting point to help people understand and adapt to different communication styles.  The first place is to understand where you are, so we got the team to identify their own individual communication styles (both what their preferred style at work and at home or in their personal lives).  NB: It is true that some people like to communicate a certain way at work that differs in their personal lives.  We then asked them to identify what communication styles they thought their clients were.

The findings were as follows:

• With a few exceptions, the customer service team was very people friendly and quite fast paced in their preferred communication style.  They are bubbly and enthusiastic, warm and social and readily shared stories and feelings.
• Their customers on the whole, who were either lab mangers, scientists or lab technicians, were very task oriented, liked facts over social conversation, were direct, to the point, on the other hand others were slow paced, methodical, liked a lot information, and didn’t like to be rushed.

When asked to consider the differences, silence fell over the room.  It became clear to the team what had been happening.

We can clearly see that difference does not necessarily equate to difficult. We ran a series of follow-up sessions with this team and to their credit two weeks later during the first follow-up session we asked them how they were going with their ‘difficult’ customers:

“We don’t have rude customers anymore.  We adjusted our communication style to how they like be approached and they are really easy to deal with now.  And what is even more amazing is when we did that some of them then started to warm up and become friendlier which we never expected.”

So, as illustrated, it is possible to learn how to adapt your own style of communication to other people.

We taught the team some simple tips and techniques they could remember and apply easily. But they needed to listen and tune in very quickly to clues the other person was giving them and adjust their style to meet that of another without changing who they are as a person. It was all was about speed, tone, and topic.

Another term that is used to describe style adaptability is Mirroring.  As described in Wikipedia, Mirroring is a human behaviour in which one copies a person while communicating with them. It is often observed among couples or close friends. It may include miming gestures, movements, body language, muscle tensions, expressions, tones, eye movements, breathing, tempo, accent, attitude, choice of words, metaphors, or other features discernible in communication.

Mirroring is common in social interactions and awareness of the process is a powerful way to influence other people’s behaviour while maintaining your own position and intent.  The best rapport may be gained by mirroring not too exactly, but close enough so they get that comfortable feeling without feeling mocked.

By simply tuning into your customer or colleague you can quickly work out how they like to be communicated with and adjust your style accordingly, whilst remaining sincere to your own authentic self.

Rather than venture any further into the topic of style adaptability at this point, I would like to acknowledge that much has been written about how to relate to and read people.  Some of it is valid, practical, and useful.  Some is valid but very complex and for experts only and some of it is downright dubious and boarders on deceitful and manipulative.  I would suggest that whatever method you use you should ensure that it does no harm to you or others and is backed up by sound research.

My intention here was to highlight the importance of style adaptability in sales and its power to enhance honest and open communications with others and to help improve our chances of working effectively with our customers and colleagues.  Understanding how we and others like to communicate and acknowledging that there are differences, rather than difficulties, can make the life cycle of sales and customer attraction and retention easier. Remember, if one can understand and respect oneself, one is more likely to understand and respect others.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Sue Barrett is Managing Director of BARRETT