Most serious salespeople know that asking questions is better than talking when selling. The most elementary type of questioning is what I call Level I questions. Example, “How much do you have to spend?” or “what features are you looking for?” Standard stuff, but better than telling a customer your cars are $30,000 or that they come with three DVD players inside without caring to find out about their budget or needs in the first place.
Level II questions are posed when the salesperson goes beyond the obvious, customizes and probes deeply. I have never come across better Level II questions than what SPIN Selling offers. “How much lost produce would not having an irrigation system result in annually? Could you quantify that?” Level II questions address implication and consequence in a personalized manner.
Most people in sales, however, are not aware of the Level III. These questions relate not so much to what you need to do as they do what the buying person/firm/group needs to do. Politics, Personality, Proof, etc. are all reasons a sale either does not happen or is postponed.
A Level III questioner asks about the buyer’s internal processes recognizing that there are always internal processes at play. Level III questions ask what is going inside the labyrinth the buyer lives in. By knowing this, the seller can begin assisting managing the internal issues. Just because the sales team has done an outstanding job producing compelling reasons for the sale to happen with which the buying team has no argument it does not follow that internal buyer mechanisms have been triggered. Be a Level IIIer and ask how you could work to take agreement to a Purchase Order.
While you are it review the below article.
The Other Side
