The Power of Questions

By Colly Graham

Have you been to the doctor’s lately?

Did he invite you in, ask you to sit down? Then proceed to describe how he went to medical school for four years, go on to tell you how he became a junior houseman in a teaching hospital. However, he probably became quite serious as he pointed out his qualifications on the wall as he built your trust about his ability to treat your condition. He has not asked you about your condition yet, as he has more information to impart to you. Did he enthuse about the qualities of the new drugs?

And after all this he offered to write out a prescription for you.

No! Of course he did not do this; how many sales people go down this road, allowing their ego to carry them away on a wave of information and after imparting all the information they can muster on their organisation and product they offer a solution without understanding the problem and its impact on the organisation. In medical terms this is known as prognosis before diagnosis or in sales terms making a sales presentation before qualification of the prospects needs, problems and situation. Salespeople can no longer be talking brochures, according to Neil Rackman.

If your doctor is like my doctor, he asks questions, of course. Putting you at your ease, building rapport, he moves forward quickly to diagnose your condition with careful questioning.

Diagnosis comes from the Greek word meaning discernment, to distinguish: apart; to come to know, discern;

The doctor asks probing questions going from the generic to more specific questions, starting, perhaps with simple questions, such as, “What’s happening with you in regard to you well-being?”

You then start to describe your symptoms/pain as you understand them.

The doctor probes, framing his question that he can make a full diagnosis of your condition.

Once he feels that he has gathered all the information and makes his prognosis.

Prognosis comes from the Latin progn sis, from Greek, to foreknow: pro-, before; to know;

The doctor will continue to ask further questions to make you realise the consequences of his prognosis and of not taking action. He will make you realise the value of taking action; in some cases this maybe preventive action to reduce the likelihood of the symptoms causing further complications.

You value what your doctor has done. You know that he understands you condition and based on his assessment you are willing to take the action he suggests.

Can you become a doctor to your patients and get to the core of your customer’s problems and discover how these problems are impacting on the performance of their business.

Careful questioning will help you access the prospect’s understanding of the problems his business may be experiencing in relation to you product or service.

On Salesxcellence’s workshops we train sales people to gain a better understanding of the problems their products or services can solve. When we ask the question; “What problems does your product or service solve?” the majority of salespeople offer the solution. To help them grasp the problems that their products/services solve, we have them do the following exercise by completing this template:

Customer Industry Problem Solved Impact of Problem


Initially we ask the participants to list the problems they have solved, at a later stage in the training, we then uncover the solution to the problems.

i. It helps the salesperson identify the industries in which he or she should
be prospecting
ii. It clarifies the problems that exists within these industries
iii. It helps formulates the questions that need to be asked to diagnose the
problem and its impact on the performance of the business.

In conclusion, become a doctor and understand your prospect’s problems and ask questions which are formulated to diagnose the nature and the consequences of the problems from which businesses are suffering.

Only when you understand the problem can you offer your prognosis to your prospect which will enable him to see the value your solution.

salesxcellence was formed by COLLY GRAHAM in 1996 who has over 40 years' experience in telephone, field sales and sales management. salesxcellence has trained and consulted with over three hundred companies since the formation of the company, assisting companies to raise the level of their game.
salesxcellence focuses on businesses realising their real potential in sales.
Visit: http://www.salesxcellence.com/
Visit: http://www.salesxcellence.co.uk