One of our clients asked us to write down some questions, so that the people providing us with background info could be prepared when we call. We don’t like to come on like a pop quiz, and we don’t normally require any advance prep. We just try to keep up our end of a conversation until a story emerges.
Here are some productive conversational gambits:
- What’s your prospect’s job?
- How much does he or she know about your product, or what it does?
- What’s the problem you solve that they worry the most about? Second biggest worry? Third?
- What can they do with your solution — that they can’t do now?
- How is championing your solution going to help them get a promotion, or just look smart?
- Who’s the competition, and what’s their pitch?
- What makes your solution better?
- What do people have a hard time understanding about your product?
- How would you start out a 2-minute sales pitch?
- What questions have we failed to ask?
One of these is going to take us in the direction where we find out what salespeople say that piques the prospect’s interest.