How NOT to Sell

Most of the candidates in my reality show, like above, focused on the water’s features or benefits, saying stuff like, this isn’t no ordinary glass of water, it’s glacier water, or, this water will quench your thirst!

Before getting into features and benefits, you need to qualify. But here are some BAD qualifying questions:

1. “Can I help you?” The answer to this question is typically “No” Which means you’ve lost all chance to interact with your prospect.

2. “What is your budget?” First off, most people have no clue and secondly, when they give you an answer it will always start your discovery process with you chasing a number that is unachievable. As a buyer, my budget is determined once my problem is solved. More often than not, I exceed my desired budget range by many times. A better way to ask this question is to find out what they paid for a similar product in the past. "The last time you rented an apartment what did you pay?" Past experiences are a good barometer for a customer's future actions.

3. “Are you the final decision-maker?” This causes people to think that if they are not then you are not interested in them and many will answer this question “yes,” even when it's not the case. That’s because the question challenges the person’s ego. A better way to ask is “Other than yourself, who else might influence the decision?”

4. “When are you thinking of buying?” The customer translates this to mean that you are only concerned with yourself and your commission. This makes you sound self-serving and sleazy.

5. “What would it take for you to do business with me today?” The ultimate stereotypical salesman question that even the salesperson hates to ask. Typically management pushes for this “commitment” question in order to create urgency to purchase. I have been in front of thousands of salespeople and can tell you most will not ask this question due to poor results and discomfort. To get a sense of where you're at in the sales process, try this instead, “On a scale from 1-10 how comfortable are you with this product for solving your problem?” or better than that, don't ask and assume it is the right time by saying, "Follow me and allow me to show you how easy it is to get started."

If you want to be more effective and increase your closing ratio you have to ask great, professional questions that demonstrate that you care and get the answers to those questions.