09 Sep The 8 Best Sales Questions

Good salespeople listen more than they talk. Open-ended sales questions are a great way to get a prospect or sales lead talking and sharing their needs & wants.  These questions can also help you build a better picture of a buyer’s personality, understand what is important to them, and start building rapport. Knowing these things means a better sales pitch. Here are the 8 best sales questions that you should ask during every sales interaction.

1. What is your vision/goals?

A good opening, this question encourages clients to share what they are hoping to accomplish in working with you. You need to know your client’s vision and goals to match the services in your quiver that will best get them the result they are after. Be mindful to note key descriptors your sales lead uses while describing their vision. When presenting your solution, it works well to reflect back on their words to show you really understand their goals.

2. Where are you at with things right now?

Understanding a buyer’s current position – specifically where they are in the buying process – will ensure you respond appropriately. Are they in research mode? Narrowing down service providers? Ready to buy? Timing is key in closing sales so knowing whether your lead will be more receptive to a proposal or general information is an effective use of your time.

3. What’s getting in your way?

Knowing a client’s challenges will allow you to offer the services that best meet their needs. It will also help you uncover your client’s pain points and bring any objections to the surface. Avoid objections or assuming everything is fine, is a sure way to kill a sale. Deal with these hesitations head-on by asking “What’s getting in your way?”

4. Do you have a budget in mind?

It’s important to open a dialogue on money so a lead feels comfortable with how much they are spending (and you know if your services will fit). If a prospect stalls, ask them: “What is the range you feel comfortable spending?” and if they similar don’t know an appropriate amount, take that opportunity to present your most common budgets for what they are after and watch for the non-verbal responses to know if you are in the same ballpark. Then ask for confirmation (“Sound good?” or “It seems like that’s outside what you are thinking – what fits you better?”)

5. What about {insert other related services}?

Depending on a prospect’s needs, you may have a chance to upsell other services. For some, it will make sense to ask this question directly (“What are you planning for your rehearsal dinner?” “What are your plans for getting website images?”). For others, it may work better to introduce additional services by addressing other pain points or gaps in the plan to achieve their goal (“Considering SEO is a key goal for your website, I would also recommend blog content that allows you to hone in on specific keywords and consistently drip content to the Google Bots”)

6. Are there others involved in the decision-making?

You can sell your heart out but if the decision-makers are not in the room, your efforts can be for naught. Find out who else needs to weigh in so you can consider their pain points and respond to their objections. By not talking to everyone who will be involved, you may end up missing a part of the picture or having missed an opportunity to provide additional services.

7. What else should I know?

This is a great open-ended question to ask as you are getting ready to close. After earning their trust during your sales interaction, this question gives your prospect the opportunity to mention seemingly unrelated afterthoughts. Commonly, leads will introduce topics that you would not otherwise have known mattered to them, changing your pitch entirely.

8. “How does that sound?”

The number one mistake people make in sales is not asking for the sale. Often, this transition from pleasant conversation to give-me-your-money is uncomfortable. But it doesn’t need to be! After pitching a solution to your buyer’s problem, simply ask “How does that sound?”. Our go-to question to close the sale, it’s an easy way to confirm you are on the right track throughout a sales interaction and to finally ask for the sale.

Does your sales team need more help honing their skills? Get in touch with us about Krista’s Soulful Sales Training & Coaching where she’ll show you actionable tactics beyond these sales questions including sales scripts, building a pipeline & dealing with objections. Or visit our digital shop and grab our Soulful Souls Bundle, featuring 4 downloadable, actionable PDFs.