Welcome! We are wrapping up our series on Power Sales Questions that we have covered during June. We have discussed Three Power Questions and how important they are:

  1. The Columbo Approach—Learn when and how to use it!
  2. The Plus/Minus Question—Find out what’s going well/what’s NOT going well.
  3. The Price Question—Find out how the client evaluates price.

Now, we move to the GROUND ZERO QUESTION, which is the personal level question—the fourth of our Power Sales Questions. Why is this important? We have to earn the right to ask questions on a personal level and find out what matters to the customer on a personal level.

Remember, “People buy for PERSONAL REASONS, and they justify for BUSINESS REASONS.”

**WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER TO BE A PERSONAL HOME RUN FOR YOU?

This question can take on different forms depending on the type of sales business:

  • If we were to work together, a year from now . . .
  • If we were successful in this bid process . . .
  • If we were assigned to this project . . .
  • If everything went as you want it to go . . .
  • When this project is complete . . .

What the customer tells us in answer to this question becomes our PRIMARY GOAL, so they will look to do business with us in the future.

I’ve used this question for close to 15 years with clients, and found it benefits me in the following ways:

  • It helps me control the conversation.
  • It gives me lots of valuable information about my customer.
  • It allows them to talk about their business.
  • It helps avoid the “Show Up and Throw Up” disease.

Listener Question of the Week: What do you do to avoid the inevitable summer “slowdowns”?

  • Find out what is going with your customers over the summer.
  • Find out which contact people are gone on vacation and when.
  • Find out what you can do to serve them best before, during, and after their vacation.
  • If possible, send a gift to them while they are on vacation if you know where they will be.

Quote of the Week: “People don’t ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good, soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts.” Robert Keith Leavit

See All 68 Episodes of "In The Sales Arena"