Yes–You Can Ask That Question During A Sales Meeting
It occurred to me working with clients last week how often I was asked, “Can I ask that question during a sales meeting. Is it okay to ask the prospect to do x, y and z?”
The answer is yes. You can ask any question you want during a sales meeting as long as it’s thoughtful, respectful and asked with the right intent. Sales is a two-way street and the sooner you make a decision to enter a meeting as an equal not as an order taker, the sooner you will hit your revenue goals.
For example, it makes perfect sense to ask a prospect why they are looking to switch vendors. Some prospects give you a lame answer like, “We think it’s a good idea to look.” Really, does this prospect have too much time on their hands?
Don’t accept this pat answer. Ask more questions and test the validity of this prospect. Make the prospect prove to you that he has a problem and is serious about solving it. It’s called role reversal where the prospect needs to sell you on the importance and urgency of eliminating the “pain.” If he is not able to present a business case to you for change, it’s reasonable to say, “I’m not sure if I am hearing enough reasons for you to make a move. What am I missing?” Besides being reasonable, it’s honest.
Yes, you can say the above because you are running a business, have limited time and do your best work with prospects that have pain, money and commitment to change or improve.
Ask the questions because the power of the question is equal to the quality of the sales meeting.
