4 Small Sales Questions That Make a Huge Impact

Talking too much about yourself: It’s a rookie mistake, but one that many salespeople fail to correct for years. Most salespeople enter a sales meeting, sit down, and immediately launch into a monologue about all the wonderful features of their company, product, or service. 

This is one of the biggest mistakes in sales. The most successful salespeople understand that prospects don’t care about them -- or even their product or service. Prospects only care about solving their greatest challenges.

So stop rambling about yourself. Instead, use these four powerful sales questions to uncover your prospect’s deepest frustrations. Get ready to truly understand what’s going on in your prospects’ world, and ultimately dominate your competition in sales:

1) “Why do you ask that?”

It’s a tiny word consisting of only three letters, but “why” packs a huge punch. During the course of every sales meeting, prospects ask questions. And when they do, you must be ready to respond with a question of your own: “Why do you ask that?”

By simply asking “why,” you’ll uncover the intent behind your prospects’ questions. Anytime a prospect asks a question about your product or service, you need to know why they care. This will help you understand what’s really going on in the prospect’s world. And then you can present a solution that truly meets the prospect’s needs.

Check out this video about the power of asking “why” in sales:

2) “What’s the biggest problem facing your organization today?”

From now on, you should commit to asking this question during every single conversation you have with a prospect. Simply put, the best way to learn about your prospect’s deepest frustration is to ask about it directly. The goal here is to uncover the customer’s “migraine” -- the one huge pain point that’s driving them crazy. Don’t waste your time on the countless little headaches that aren’t a huge priority for your prospect. Focus solely on that migraine. After all, it’s the one problem your customer wants to solve at all costs.

3) “How much is this problem costing your company?”

The goal of this question is to find out exactly how much -- in actual dollars -- your prospect’s biggest problem is costing the company in lost revenue, savings, and profit. Once your prospect puts a number on the real dollar amount their pain point is costing the company, they’ll also be ascribing value to your proposed solution. This is a powerful way to understand your prospect’s mindset, and get a sense of how much money is on the line. 

4) “How does this problem affect you personally?”

Most salespeople feel uncomfortable asking questions like this, but there’s no better way to tap into your prospect’s personal pain. If your prospect is personally affected by the problem you’re trying to solve, you need to find out.

Prospects who are personally affected by problems are more likely to commit to solving the problem -- and hiring you to help them do it. If you can get your prospects to articulate how a problem is affecting them personally, they’ll be more motivated to buy your solution, plain and simple.

Ask these four questions in your next sales meeting and you’ll not only uncover your prospect’s deepest frustrations, but you’ll also increase your value in the eyes of your prospect. These powerful questions prove that you’re totally focused on your prospects and their needs. When you ask questions that earn your prospect’s trust, uncover their biggest frustrations, and craft a solution to meet their needs, you’ll close more sales -- and bigger sales -- than ever before. 

Which of these four questions did you find most useful? Share your thoughts in the comments below. For more powerful sales questions, check out this special report on three closing questions you must ask to close the deal.