The key questions to ask during sales meetings

Sales meetings, whether conducted face to face or online, can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can go through as a professional. We all understand that a lot of hard work and effort goes into the processes leading up to a meeting. This is why it is crucial to do everything you can to maximise your chance of closing clients regularly during sales meetings.

Now, the tendency for a lot of people engaged in sales meetings, regardless of what they are trying to sell, is to focus more on their products and services, rather than ensuring their solution is a good fit for the customer.

As individuals, we can all probably recall examples either professionally or personally, where someone has tried selling something to us that wasn’t quite right for our situation. It could be a new mobile phone contract right the way through to a car. However, without complete buy in and certainty, people are reluctant to give the go ahead for a sale.

Most people are risk averse, it’s the way our brains have been wired, which means that we need confidence and reassurance for the most part, before we say ‘yes’. Therefore, this week's blog is centred around some of the key questions to ask during a sales meeting to maximise your performance.

The sales approach
There are lots of different approaches to selling and all have their advantages as well as disadvantages. However, one of the most effective sales methodologies we like to advise our partners when they launch a Digital Agency with us is the consultative selling approach.

This approach focuses on collaborating with a potential client, really drawing out the key problems and amplifying the pain points before discussing the right solution.

An analogy that we like to use is when you visit your doctor during an illness. Your doctor does not simply prescribe medicine without reflecting on your condition. Instead, you are asked a range of questions about your symptoms and then the most appropriate medicine is prescribed to help you. In a sales or business context, the same thought process is very effective as it enables you to isolate specific problems your prospect is facing before framing your solution.

In contrast, what most people tend to do is focus more on a benefits first approach which aims to push the advantages of the given solution or product at the customer without understanding their needs. The most common result of this kind of approach is to be met with resistance as the business owner can not see the benefit of working with you and utilising your products or services.

Below is a series of questions you should be asking potential clients in a sales meeting as well as the rationale behind each question. We have tried to focus these questions around helping businesses improve their online presence.

The idea here is to give your prospect plenty of opportunities to talk about their business and for you to listen attentively. Asking the right follow up questions can actually help you open up additional areas of concern for the business and place you in a strong position to offer your guidance to the business.

1. "How do most of your customers find you online?"
The idea with this question is to understand what kind of online visibility does a business currently have. We often recommend researching a business in depth before a sales meeting so you understand their existing digital footprint.

It also helps you to understand their current marketing channels. For example, if your prospect tells you that most customers find them on Google, then you can be sure that they are conducting some level of search engine optimisation (SEO) to rank well with search engines. Therefore, you can look to boost their SEO with additional content on their website such as a regular blog or focusing on helping them secure more customer reviews.

2. "Where do you receive most of your orders from?"
As a business, it is important to know which channels are driving the most sales. This helps identify the most appropriate places to spend additional resources as well as areas that can potentially be improved or dropped entirely.

Therefore, this question is all about helping your prospect understand their metrics. For example, do they have any stats on which areas are performing best for them? Are most sales coming from their website or through email marketing campaigns that they have set up? Your role as a sales professional is to understand how you can help a business build upon their current position.

3. "What technology solutions are you currently using?"
This is a really important question as it helps you pinpoint which solutions are currently being utilised within the business. Most small to medium sized businesses use fewer than 2-3 different technology solutions and aren’t aware of the range of solutions that are available to them.

Here, your focus should be on identifying additional technology platforms that can make the business owner's life easier. For instance, if they are looking to offer online appointments, you could advise them of a user friendly booking system. Moreover, if they're manually posting content to multiple social networks, you could show them how this can be streamlined by posting content to different social networks simultaneously.

4. "How much are you spending on marketing per month?"
Every business needs to market their business as it builds awareness for what they actually do. Therefore, understanding how much money a business spends on marketing per month can help you identify what level of solutions are right for the prospect. For example, if a business only spends a small amount on marketing each month, you should focus your solutions on delivering results that will give them the best return on investment in the short term.

Marketing and especially digital marketing, is not a one time process or cost. Marketing needs to be something that is constantly developed, analysed and improved in order to engage the right customers. Over time, money spent on marketing will actually help your clients grow their businesses, therefore it is crucial that you understand what their budget currently is.

5. "What differentiates you from your competitors?"
No business or business owner operates in isolation. This question is all about helping your prospect think about their competitors and really identifying a unique selling point (USP). For example, does your prospect offer a better product, service or experience when compared to their competitors?

This is where your research also plays an important role because you can help your potential client benchmark themselves against others in a similar space. Every business tries to be unique and having some form of differentiation, no matter how small, can give your client an edge.

6. "What are some of the biggest marketing challenges you currently face as a business?"
Most business owners will confess to facing challenges on a regular basis. Helping your prospects channel their thinking on some of their most significant marketing challenges can open up areas to focus your solutions. For example, your prospect may identify social media or website visibility as a challenge and it’s important that you recognise these challenges.

When asking this question, it is good practice to highlight short term, medium term and long term challenges that the prospect is facing. This will enable you to position your solutions at the most appropriate level and solidify a long term working relationship.

7. "How are you leveraging customer feedback?
One of the most treasured assets a business has is their reputation. Credibility can take years to build and can be destroyed in a matter of seconds with negative feedback. As a result, it is important to highlight how a business is capturing customer feedback and how this is being utilised as an effective marketing tool.

The reality for a lot of businesses is the fact that they are not capturing or implementing customer feedback. However, by being more open to collecting feedback or reviews, your prospect can improve significantly and this is something you should always draw their attention to.

8. "Where do you see your business in 3 years time?
Every successful business is working to a plan and a set of objectives. It is important to ask your target clients where they see their business in a few years. Off the back of this question, you should be trying to highlight the steps the business needs to take in order to realise their aspirations.

For example, if your client wants to increase their customer list by 100%, how will this be achieved. What platforms and marketing channels do they need to invest in now in order to build momentum within their business. Helping business owners think strategically and long term will make it easier to sell solutions that can help them realise their vision.

Summary
As we have seen through this week's blog, there is no such thing as a bad question. However, by asking the right type of questions, you can really start to improve your conversion rates during sales meetings

By asking questions and then listening attentively, you can ask follow up questions to position your products or services as a vital necessity for your prospects.

To find out more about how you can launch a Digital Agency and help businesses improve their digital footprint, please contact a member of our team.

Until next time, take care.