As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, my clients often ask me for advice on sales.
Naturally, this makes a ton of sense because the MORE and BETTER marketing you do, the FASTER and EASIER your sales process becomes.
BUT…
Nothing frustrates me more than when my clients DO a lot of the great marketing we work on together ONLY TO BLOW IT during the sales process!
So… don’t let this happen to YOU.
Let’s talk about what you need to close the deal: the steps you need to get from the first solid marketing conversation to the final signed contract.
Depending on your particular business, this could take anywhere from 10 days from first contact all the way up to a year or more. The sales process can be a long and winding road.
BUT there are several factors totally within your control that make it go faster and easier.
The most important one – by far – is asking smart questions early and often.
Think about it: delays in your sales process come from one main source…
Surprises.
You don’t want surprises on their end – and they don’t like surprises on your end.
Each surprise or question or unexpected element can add anywhere from a week to a month to your sales process – and you don’t want that.
Understanding this, you’ll want to ask them some key selling questions early on in your conversations and throughout at every major step and milestone.
Let’s cover them together now so you can begin using these 21 killer sales questions to close more deals – more easily and more often.
- If you were to decide this is a good idea, how do you buy things like this?
- How do you implement?
- What should I know about your timing? Signoffs?
- When do you budget for things like this?
- Do you think this deal is going to work?
- What’s missing or what should we add?
- Are you going to pitch it?
- What else do you need to see from me?
- Can I help you put together some numbers?
- Do you have some numbers I could include?
- Who else besides you will be making this decision?
- Are “they” going to like it?
- WHAT are they going to like?
- WHAT are they going to push back on?
- What else is going to be in our way?
- How would YOU respond to that?
- What answers do you need from me to so you’re prepared to answer their questions?
- How much detail do YOU want?
- How much detail will THEY want?
- Are there any surprises we should be prepared for?
- If this were just you and me, how excited would you be to move ahead on a scale of 0-10?
Hint: If they answer 9 or 10 – you’re good; If they answer 7 or 8 – ask, “What would need to change to get us closer to 10?” If they answer 6 or less, you have a problem. Go for no with “I don’t think we can make this work. Do you?”Be relentless and follow up like a friendly bulldog.
Never let an active prospect get more than 10 days away from you.
Always show up in their world like a happy squeaky wheel: Circle back. Send more value. Ask more questions. Offer more engagement. Invite further dialogue. Come back with more ideas to genuinely help them.
More and better and faster sales will follow.
I guarantee it.
Grab your FREE copy of the Do It! Marketing Manifesto
Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!
