Every day countless sales are lost because salespeople blurt out simple answers to what they mistakenly see as simple customer questions. The fact is that many customer questions, if answered immediately, will derail the sales process.

Two classic sales errors can occur when you answer the wrong question too fast. First, the question may throw your presentation out of sequence. For instance, the customer may ask about price before you have had a chance to identify needs or establish the value of your solution.

The second error arises when a seeming innocuous question is, in fact, loaded, and you don’t have enough information to answer it correctly. Because you don’t know the reason behind the question, your hasty answer can land you in trouble.

For instance, have you ever fallen into a trap like this?

Buyer: “Your product sounds great. Now, if we go with you, how would you handle shipping to our plant?”

You: “We ship via United Cartways. They give us good prices because we use them exclusively.”

Buyer: “Oh. We’ve had some bad experiences with United Cartways. They’re usually slow, and when there’s a problem they take forever to track our shipments. I guess we’ll stick with our current supplier.”

Sure, all you did was provide a prompt and honest response to a “simple” question. But look what happened. The solution is to probe for the reason behind the customer’s query by answering the question with a question:

Buyer: “Now, if we go with you, how would you handle shipping to our plant?”

You: “You tell me, Carol. What’s your preferred method?”

Buyer: “We’re happy with the service we get now from Ameritruck. They’re a good outfit.”

You: “Have you ever used United Cartways?”

Buyer: “Oh, yeah. Never again! Their service was awful. They gave us fits.”

You: “What do you like best about Ameritruck?”

Buyer: “They’re always on time, and they’re excellent at tracking shipments. Dependable delivery is critical for us.”

You: “Well then, let’s plan to use Ameritruck. Okay?”

Buyer: “Okay!”

In both of those scenarios, you discovered some important information about a shipper who may be alienating any number of your company’s clients. The difference is that when you answered the question with a question, the discovery didn’t cost you a sale.

Whenever you suspect that there may be more to a customer’s question than meets the eye (and you should suspect this often), probe for booby traps by answering the question with a question. You’ll rescue a whole lot of sales.

In The Field:

“My reps give Action Selling’s questioning modules rave reviews,” says Barbara Wright, area sales manager for 3M/Media Networks in New York City. “Action Selling lays out the most logical and sensible approach to the sales process that I have ever seen. And the training program allowed us to customize the questioning modules to our particular business during the workshop.”

Action Selling’s “open architecture” enables sales management to tailor the training to the specific selling situation of each salesperson. Students develop their questioning skills by plugging in the concerns and issues of actual clients while they practice and learn.

“Because the questioning skills are geared to our division, Action Selling is the only program I have seen that allows the learning to transfer directly into the field,” Wright says. “The program keeps right on training after the students leave the workshop.”

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