Finding the Facts

These questions may seem obvious, but it's surprising how often they are overlooked.

To scope out an account or manage a relationship, you need some fundamental pieces or information about the client -- their customers, partners, suppliers; their company structure; number of employees; and so on.

These questions may seem obvious, but it's surprising how often they are overlooked. These are usually closed questions that can be answered "yes" or "no" or with a fact. Their job is to elicit information, so they tend not to be all that imaginative (virtually everybody asks them), but can be surprisingly provocative (for example, " Who makes the decisions here?"). They are essential, but they won't do a whole lot to differentiate you from your competition.

ACTION POINT: Don't overlook finding out the basic information about your client.

6.1.5 Willingness to Fail

We must have a willingness to fail or we might not ever start.


Failure is an important ingredient of success. We must have a willingness to fail or we might not ever start. In all challenges opportunity and risk are combined. We must also learn from our failures because many times they can be valuable stepping stones toward our goals. Ho is right learned, but from what is wrong?

A mental attitude that defines success in terms of activity rater than outcome allows us to freely experience the challenges ahead. We then acquire peace, a deep sense of comfort and reassurance, for having been a full participant in the race set before us.

ACTION POINT: "If you want to find favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgement and common sense, then trust in the Lord completely; don't ever trust yourself. In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.

Questions for Needs

Comfortable customers invariably reveal more -- and more useful -- information.


Of all the skills demanded of a successful salesperson, questioning remains the most important. This is simply because you can't hope to understand a customer's needs without asking questions in a thoughtful, credible, and sensitive way.

When you question a customer at a sales meeting, you need to keep the session light -- think of it as an open discussion rather than an interrogation. Comfortable customers invariably reveal more -- and more useful -- information.

The questions you ask to determine needs fall into three broad categories -- fact-finding questions, needs-oriented questions, and big-picture questions. There are no hard and fast rules about the types of question to ask your customer, but experience suggest that a ratio of around five fact-finding questions, to three needs oriented questions, and one big-picture question is comfortable for the client and achievable for you.

ACTION POINT: Skillfully ask questions to discover your customers needs.

Guiding the Meeting

...you are there to solve their problems...

Old-style salespeople were loath to lose control of a meeting and so did all the talking and tried to force the customer on to their agenda. you can see now that this isn't consistent with a problem-solving approach to selling.

Instead, you should acknowledge that the meeting belongs to the customer -- you are there to solve their problems, after all. Your role is more as facilitator, to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly. Once you begin addressing issues on the agenda, ensure that the meeting stays focused on the stated purpose's. Try to draw out ideas from all participants, then move the meeting toward an action plan and schedule the follow-up.

ACTION POINT: Stay focused on the purpose of the sales call.

Setting the Agenda

Customers resent people who overstay their welcome.

Ensure that everyone is clear about the objectives of the meeting. Even through this is a sales call, it requires a clear agenda, distributed in advance, and takes into account your needs and your client's (remember, it is their meeting).

Give each person the opportunity to express their interest in the meeting and what they would like to get out of it. This is crucial: you may not realize the status or position of a participant in your meeting, and run the risk of missing out on a huge opportunity.

Finally, confirm the time available for the meeting, and stick to it. Customers resent people who overstay their welcome.

ACTION POINT: Have an agenda for every meeting with a customer.