Don’t forget to ask this qualifying question

There’s a point in every sales meeting when the wrap-up hits on the issue of whether or not there’s anythign more to talk about. When that moment arrives, I like to ask the prospect this question: To help me best understand the impact of this project, what happens if you decide to do nothing?

That simple question does two things:

• Qualifying: That question helps determine how likely the prospect is to complete the purchase. The greater the consequence, the greater the likelihood they will advance the purchase decision in a given time. If there’s little impact to not making a decision, a flag is raised I may be working with a window shopper.
• Buying Criteria: The question gets the prospect to describes the reason they want to make a purchase: achieve something, avoid something, improve something, etc.

Once the question is asked, I can conversationally explore their answer to get to the root of their interest and frame my proposal.

Try it the next time you meet with a prospective customer and see for yourself how powerful that simple question can be.

By Jim Logan
http://saleskick.me/