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11 Determining Customer Needs with a Consultative Questioning Strategy

A photo shows a salesperson in a discussion with a couple. He holds an open book and pen in hand. — Source: Michael Ahearne

Learning Objectives

When you finish reading this chapter, you should be able to

11.1 Outline the benefits of the consultative sales process
11.2 Describe the four parts of the need-satisfaction model
11.3 Discuss the use of questions to discover customer needs
11.4 Describe the importance of active listening and the use of confirmation questions
11.5 Select solutions that match customer needs

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Adaptive Selling Video—Questions, Questions, Questions

The effective use of questions is the starting point of the consultative sales process. Questions are used to build adaptive style selling relationships, discover customer needs, and adapt and present product solutions that meet those needs. Questions span the entire sales process and are also used to successfully negotiate, close, and service a sale.

“Questions, Questions, Questions,” the second video in our Adaptive Selling Today Training Video Series, introduces and shows how to use the four adaptive selling questions described in this chapter. An Internet telephone systems sales representative featured in the video learns one of his largest accounts may be going with another supplier. The salesperson’s company brought in a new sales training program on how to use questions effectively, and the salesperson is the first to learn the system. With his newly acquired knowledge and skills, the salesperson schedules another call to see if he can, with the use of questions, reestablish his relationship and salvage the sale.

In this follow-up call, we find out how well he has learned to adapt and use questions to discover and better understand the customer’s needs, create value, solve the customer’s buying problem, and retain the account. Throughout the three-part video, our salesperson learns about the following four-part multiple-questioning strategy and what these questions will reveal during the consultative sales presentation.

Survey Questions	Reveal	Problems and situation
Probing Questions	Reveal	Pain and implications
Need-Satisfaction Questions	Reveal	Pleasure and need satisfaction
Confirmation Questions	Reveal	Mutual understanding

The use of an effective questioning strategy, so important to the consultative sales process, is one of the greatest challenges facing salespeople. Need discovery and questioning will be explored in this chapter (Figure 11.1), and the sales presentation and demonstration will be presented in the next chapter.

Figure 11.1 Creating the Sales Presentation

The consultative sales process involves adding value by accurately determining the prospect’s needs and selecting an appropriate product or service.

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Table of Contents for 11 Determining Customer Needs with a Consultative Questioning Strategy

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Table of Contents for
11 Determining Customer Needs with a Consultative Questioning Strategy