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Thread: The Hard Sell - Sales Pitch Questions

  1. #1
    You do realize by 'gay' I mean a man who has sex with other men?
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    The Hard Sell - Sales Pitch Questions

    No matter whether you are selling a software product or a herbal product the one thing that i picked up from my bricks and mortar sales days was that no matter how hard a customer can refuse to buy something you always have 6 types of leading questions to enable you to close a sale even if the customer doesnt want to buy!

    Of course taking this information and adapting it to the internet is completely different at least, it has been until now.

    Open And Closed Questions

    How many times have you been into a store and been bothered by sales people asking you if you need their help? More times than you can remember i would think and, out of al of these sales people approaching you how many times have you answered 'yes' or 'no' to their questions? Again more times than you care to remember.

    What if, that sales person actually approached you with a new attitude so far as the first question you get asked for example, instead of asking if you would like any help, to which you can only really answer yes or no, what if they asked you, what is the weather like outside? How would you answer them in this instance? I would wager your answer would be more than a one word reply.

    The two paragraphs above are prime examples of what both an open and a closed question is. The first example, where realistically the only replys you could get would be a yes or a no answer are closed.. they limit your ability to get additional information from your customer without asking further questions however, in contrast, the second paragraph you actually get much more than a one word answer in fact, you will often get several sentences all of which can be used to discover the mood your customer is in, as well as breaking the ice to maintain a continued conversation with the customer thus enabling you to go onto your sales schpeel.

    Even though open and closed questions play an important role in any sales pitch you also need to ask questions that, perhaps at times can only be answered with a single yes or no reply for example..

    1) Which type of product are you interested in?
    2) Who will be the main user of this product?
    3) Have you ever used this product before?
    4) What features are you specifically looking for?
    5) How much are you looking to spend on this product?
    6) How do you want to pay for this product?

    As you can see from the 6 questions above when thrown into a conversation with a customer / client you can not only find out exactly what they are looking for but if they have previously tried a product or service you offer as well what their budget is and more importantly, their preferred method of payment.

    Those 6 questions when asked in that order apart from enabling you to gather additional information are also valuable in order for you to match your client not only with a product they want but also they will enable you to think of alternatives should the product you intially choose not be what they are looking for.

    Sales Questions - Recap

    As we have seen from above there are specific methods of gaining pertinant information from your potential client which can help you with your sales pitch whilst still maintaining a relaxed sales pitch which, in most cases, the client wont even realize is happening then, when it comes to closing the sale, you should be able to not only offer them the payment method they prefer but actual make the transaction a reality.

    Article written by Lee.

    http://www.webmasteradvertising.com


  2. #2
    chick with a bass basschick's Avatar
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    lee - i may not be the average customer, but guitar center has implemented those questions you're talking about. it irritates the hell out of me - freaks me out, too.

    it used to be when i wanted to buy something, i'd go find someone. other than that, they'd ask me if i wanted help and i'd say no. now they introduce themselves and try and ask me those questions, and it really really pisses me off. in fact, on several occasions, it sent me to buy what i was already looking at at sam ash - where no one bothered me with questions.


  3. #3
    You do realize by 'gay' I mean a man who has sex with other men?
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    Quote Originally Posted by basschick
    lee - i may not be the average customer, but guitar center has implemented those questions you're talking about. it irritates the hell out of me - freaks me out, too.
    Haha that was one of the reasons i left retail many years ago

    I felt some of the questions really werent relevant to the products we were selling.

    Non the less, when relevant those questions allow a salesman to get the most information from a potential customer as possible in as little time as possible... Thats a good thing... For the salesman

    Regards,

    Lee


  4. #4
    GLBTcity
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    Corporate Sales

    Quote Originally Posted by basschick
    lee - i may not be the average customer, but guitar center has implemented those questions you're talking about. it irritates the hell out of me - freaks me out, too.

    it used to be when i wanted to buy something, i'd go find someone. other than that, they'd ask me if i wanted help and i'd say no. now they introduce themselves and try and ask me those questions, and it really really pisses me off. in fact, on several occasions, it sent me to buy what i was already looking at at sam ash - where no one bothered me with questions.
    Hi basschick and Lee,

    First, Lee, my background is in sales and customer service. So yes, your statement/explanation above is true. Two of my largest accounts were "The National Lucemia Society" and "The Salvation Army".

    Second, basschick, I couldn't agree more with you. I feel the same way when a salesman/women approaches me in a store. My initial feeling is to tell them "get the f*ck away from me if you want me to buy anything at all".

    Although I was a Lead Consultant and the Senior Accounts Representative and very successful in the Corporate Sales, I retired in 1996.

    In defense of the "salesman", I will say it's not for everyone and not everyone has what it takes to be successful in sales. Those that are successful, are generally in the 6 digit income bracket. It's a good career choice "IF" you're cut out for it.

    Keeping in mind that I didn't like how most sales people approached me in stores, I developed a different technique (style) that was far less intimidating to the customer. This technique is what I taught and made me successful in sales.

    The approach that Lee described is fact though and most commonly taught. However, I HATE IT myself when used on me as a customer.

    PapaBear
    Last edited by GLBTcity; 06-11-2005 at 10:36 AM. Reason: Misspelling


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