Ymart News

Ymart success at Small Business Forum 2015

On Nov 15th Ymart presented itself at Small Business Forum held by Enterprise Toronto at Toronto Metro Convention Center.We are very happy to say that Ymart first public appearance was a great success

Read More
Branding and mistakes many small businesses are making

Many small businesses have never had time to think about branding and create a cohesive brand strategy. Many treat it as a last priority and if not completely neglect branding aspect delay it greatly.

Read More

Forum

Search:
 Author  Message



Joined: 31 Dec 1969

  Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015, 08:59pm
  Subject: Why Leading Questions Are Important In Sales Negotiations!
Quote  

with permission of Patrick Tinney, Managing Partner, centroidmarketing.com, the Author of the new business book “Unlocking Yes: Sales Negotiation Lessons & Strategy”

 

“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, require creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”

- Albert Einstein


A leading question is a question so worded as to suggest the proper or desired answer.  If you’ve watched a crime or courtroom movie scene you would have heard a million leading questions and some of these questions are so rhetorical that we almost groan when we hear them.  A leading questions example would be “would you agree Mrs. Defendant that your nose has two nostrils?” Or… “Would you say Mr. Witness that ears are generally used for listening?”  Groan!

As a young sales professional growing up in the newspaper business I was surrounded and trained by some of the smartest sales people in the business skilled at asking leading questions.  Many of these sales thought leaders knew that if they didn’t get the customer moving in the right direction in a sales negotiation the whole discussion could derail and they would not get a deal done and collect their sales commission.

Learning from these quizzical greats was infectious and fun.  It was also deadly serious.  We all knew that if we could not draw the customer into our zone of potential agreement (ZOPA) with great questions our quarterly bonuses could be in question. 

So why are leading questions so important?  The answer is simple.  We use leading questions in sales negotiations to create much needed constructive momentum.  This is especially true in large dollar volume negotiations.  Leading questions allow us to create a channel of positive responses or ‘yes’s” from the customer.  In a sales negotiation, it is important to get the customer used to saying yes so when the critical closing portion of a sales negotiation comes front and center the word yes is not foreign or awkward.  The customer has said the word yes so many times to leading questions that “yes” is just a continuation of a conversation rather than a lightning point.

One of the best ways to start leading questions in a sales negotiation is to talk about the relationship, history, past success or common objectives that a customer and sales person have or will both benefit from.  Here is a solid list of sales negotiation leading questions:

  • Isn’t it great that our two companies have such a long and constructive history?
  •  Would you agree that our last negotiation was right on point?
  •  Do you believe that working collaboratively on this deal will bring us both to a win/win agreement?
  •  Could we say that our relationship has always been the basis for our on-going ability to close solid contracts?

The neat thing about all of the above questions is that on the surface they are innocuous. The questions are meant to put the customer at ease while paving the way to meatier questions further down steam in the negotiation.  These non-threatening questions while leading to effortless “yes’s” on the customer’s part also confirm that there are no underlying problems with the customer’s perception of our on-dealings and performance. 

If you want to put a little more edge on a leading question to a customer you might go with the following.  “You don’t want to miss budget do you?”  This leading question will really perk your customer up!

If for any reason the customer responds counter-intuitively to any of the above questions it is time to slow the negotiation down and ask deeper amour piercing questions to address any concerns the customer has about the negotiation.  This is a critical point because if the customer wants to air some objections or complaints, this is the time to catch them and listen to them closely.  Remember, no matter how small the issue or objection the customer has, we must take the time to hear them out.   As intelligent business people we all want to be heard and reassured that the decisions we are about to make are the smartest and best available.

So get working on your leading questions! And, here’s to guiding your sales negotiations to wise and profitable closure!  “It’s fun to sign large deals….wouldn’t you say?” 

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”- Voltaire

 

For more information or to comment, please contact patrick@centroidmarketing.com

centroidmarketing.com

Twitter @ Centroideals

Copyright Centroid Marketing 2015 

Bus. 705- 657-2518   Cell. 416-617-3271

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

« Previous 1 ...  2 3 4 5 6 7 Next »

mrseo
Joined: 11 Apr 2020
  Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021, 06:11am
  Subject: shzz
Quote  
Great survey. I`m sure you`re getting a great response. Online Degrees
Back to top

mrseo
Joined: 11 Apr 2020
  Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021, 06:13am
  Subject: shzz
Quote  
Hi, I log on to your new stuff like every week. Your humoristic style is witty, keep it up Online Degrees
Back to top

mrseo
Joined: 11 Apr 2020
  Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021, 06:15am
  Subject: shzz
Quote  
After reading your article I was amazed. I know that you explain it very well. And I hope that other readers will also experience how I feel after reading your article. Online Degrees
Back to top

samthan
Joined: 29 Aug 2021
  Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:50am
  Subject: Samthan
Quote  
An excellent article! Small changes can make a big difference. I appreciate your information. Thank you so much!
buy views on YouTube
Back to top

MarkShepherd
Joined: 09 Sep 2021
  Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2021, 03:33am
  Subject: Online Exams
Quote  
Are you looking for help with online exams, because you hate this compliceted task? I am the one who can help you.
Back to top

George Hill
Joined: 14 Sep 2021
  Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021, 05:59am
  Subject: Dissertation Hypothesis Writing
Quote  
For the sake of example, let`s say that you`ve chosen to argue the merits of eating locally grown foods. You want to focus on the positive effects that this will have on one`s health, the local economy, and on global ecology. You also want to dispel the myth that eating locally is more expensive, and therefore, the exclusive purview of the upper middle class for good thesis paper.
Back to top

Liza Mitchell
Joined: 15 Sep 2021
  Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021, 01:30pm
  Subject: Get help
Quote  
I can assure you that you can choose the best service for writing a type of answer test and you`ll be impressed by results
Back to top

Liza Lite
Joined: 16 Sep 2021
  Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021, 02:15am
  Subject: Excel help
Quote  
If you`ve got some excel problem I would recommend you to get a professional help for not failing your paper
Back to top

johnjay
Joined: 16 Sep 2021
  Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021, 04:54am
  Subject: online test help
Quote  
Where do you usually buy online test help?
Back to top

richardstone
Joined: 16 Sep 2021
  Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021, 06:05am
  Subject: sample scholarship essays
Quote  
Apart from all the mentioned online help, I would also like to know if sample scholarship essays will do for this.
Back to top
« Previous 1 ...  2 3 4 5 6 7 Next »

Web Development by Superior Web Solutions