{"id":90350,"date":"2023-01-28T14:04:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-28T18:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=90350"},"modified":"2023-01-30T10:16:37","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T14:16:37","slug":"best-open-ended-sales-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/best-open-ended-sales-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Open-Ended Sales Questions for Undecided Customers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want to know some of the best open-ended sales questions<\/a>? What are the best techniques for asking open-ended questions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author and sales expert Phil M. Jones wrote Exactly What to Say <\/em>to teach readers how to use conversational selling<\/a> to appeal to their customers’ subconscious minds. Jones claims that the best open-ended sales questions should help you to control the direction of the conversation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading for the best open-ended sales questions, according to Jones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Techniques for Asking Sales Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Do you want to land new customers quickly? Phil M. Jones <\/em>claims he can help you to improve your business interactions by using the key phrases found in his book Exactly What to Say<\/em>. In the book, he offers some of the best open-ended sales questions to help you keep control of the conversation and steer it toward your desired outcome. In this article, we’ll describe three of Jones’s techniques for asking open-ended sales questions when a customer is undecided, according to the descriptions in Exactly What to Say<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create a Path of Least Resistance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to Jones, one of the best strategies in sales for convincing an undecided customer to say “yes” is asking open-ended questions<\/strong> (as opposed to questions with a yes or no response) because it helps you to control the direction of the conversation and makes your desired <\/em>response the easiest <\/em>response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones explains that asking open-ended sales questions keeps the conversation going and makes it easier for people to give you information, rather than saying no<\/a>. For example, it’s best to change the closed question, \u201cAre you looking to buy a new computer?\u201d to an open-ended question, \u201cWhat kind of computer would you ideally like to have?\u201d In the closed form, it\u2019s easy for the customer to say no and end the conversation. With open phrasing, the customer is more likely to engage with you because it is more difficult for them to either ignore you or tell you they don\u2019t want to answer the question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open and Closed Questions Have Unique Benefits in Sales<\/strong>

Although Jones prefers open questions because they prevent an abrupt end to your conversation, Neil Rackham\u2019s SPIN Selling<\/em><\/a> explains why both open and closed questions are valuable tools and describes a more thorough approach to asking questions on a sales call. 

Similar to Jones, Rackham argues that open questions are more engaging and encourage more detailed responses that give valuable insight into the customer\u2019s preferences. On the other hand, closed questions are useful if you want to engage with your customer less. For example, if you have limited time or if your customer is very talkative, a closed question will help you get to the point<\/a> faster. 

Rather than focusing on open versus closed questions, Rackman recommends a strategy called the \u201cSPIN Sequence\u201d<\/a>, which includes the following types of questions:

1. S- Situation questions: <\/strong>Ask background questions about the customer, such as \u201cWhat are your main priorities?\u201d 

2. P- Problem questions<\/a>: <\/strong>Ask questions about what problems you can potentially solve for your customer. For example, \u201cAre you worried about the amount of time it takes to troubleshoot equipment?\u201d

3. I- Implication questions<\/a>: <\/strong>Ask questions that emphasize the impact of the situation and problems that the customer identified. For example, \u201cHow will the time inefficiency of troubleshooting equipment impact your overall revenue and goals?\u201d

4. N- Need-payoff questions: <\/strong>Ask questions that encourage the customer to state how your product can meet their needs. For example, \u201cHow useful would it be if we could reduce the time you spend troubleshooting equipment?\u201d <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition to asking open-ended sales questions, try using the phrase \u201cMost people\u2026<\/strong>\u201d because it creates a path of least resistance in your favor. If a prospective customer is on the fence, and you tell them, \u201cMost people try the product for a month and end up loving it,\u201d the customer trusts that people before them in the same situation made a good decision. They feel more confident that they should do the same as \u201cmost people\u201d in the hopes of a similarly good outcome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Research suggests that people tend to conform not because they trust other people\u2019s decisions, but rather because they want to fit in socially<\/a>. One motivating factor for conformity is maintaining harmony within social groups. For example, if everyone in your social group wants to go on vacation to a certain place, and you don\u2019t, you might go along with their choice to avoid conflict<\/a>. In addition, people go along with what others want for the pleasure of fitting in and gaining the approval of others. This explains why, even if they don\u2019t know <\/em>the other people who supposedly chose to buy a product, a customer might subconsciously believe there is a social benefit to making the same decision.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appeal to Universally Positive Traits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since people like to think of themselves as open-minded, Jones says that starting the conversation with the phrase \u201cHow open-minded are you\u2026?\u201d <\/strong>encourages customers to tell you that they are willing to consider your product or idea. The question implies that if they are open-minded in general, they can prove it by fulfilling the request that follows<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you start a sales pitch with, \u201cHow open-minded are you about trialing this new service I\u2019m offering?\u201d the customer is likely to say, \u201cI\u2019m open to that,\u201d giving you the opportunity to share more information. The logical alternative is, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not open-minded about that,\u201d which would reflect poorly on the other person because they want to be perceived as open-minded. If the customer concedes early in the conversation that they\u2019re at least open<\/em> to your idea, you are one step closer to making a sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open-Mindedness in the \u201cFair Exchange\u201d Sales Opener<\/strong>

In The Psychology of Selling<\/em><\/a>, Brian Tracy mentions the phrase \u201copen-minded\u201d at the beginning of a sales pitch, but he uses it as part of a broader strategy for a \u201cFair Exchange\u201d opening of a business sale<\/a>. In this method, the salesperson starts with something like, \u201cAll I\u2019d like to do is tell you about why so many people love this product. Listen to my proposal with an open mind and then let me know if that sounds like it would work for you. Does that seem fair?\u201d 

Though Tracy does not explicitly mention the benefits of the term \u201copen mind,\u201d both strategies set you up for the customer to agree that they will listen to the pitch. In addition, the use of the word \u201cfair\u201d in Tracy\u2019s opener similarly appeals to a positive trait. According to Jones\u2019s logic, the customer likely wants to agree because they want to be seen as open-minded and <\/em>fair. 

Tracy\u2019s opener differs from Jones\u2019s because it adds the layer of suggestion that other people like the product. This aspect overlaps with some of Jones\u2019s other phrases that we\u2019ll highlight later in the guide, like <\/strong>\u201cMost people\u2026\u201d, demonstrating how phrases can be combined depending on the context. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Appeal to Emotion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because people are emotionally driven, one way to persuade an undecided customer is to leverage their natural desire to feel positive emotions<\/a> and avoid negative emotions. Jones argues that when you’re trying to make a sale<\/a>, use the open-ended question \u201cHow would you feel if\u2026\u201d<\/strong> because it makes people actually experience <\/em>the emotion of the conditional scenario. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way to appeal to the customer\u2019s emotion is with the phrase \u201cThe good news is\u2026\u201d<\/strong>. This phrase subconsciously stimulates positive emotions and makes people want to act on them by accepting your offer. For example, you could say, \u201cThe good news is, I can give you a special deal on my product for this one time only.\u201d The key phrase signals to the listener that something positive is happening, whether or not they were initially wanting that product. The positive feeling they experienced makes them want to capitalize on the good news by accepting your offer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negative Emotions Are More Powerful Than Positive Ones<\/strong>

Evidence suggests that appealing to negative<\/em> emotions (using \u201cHow would you feel if\u2026\u201d) in the context of a business sale is even more powerful than appealing to positive emotions (using \u201cThe good news is\u2026\u201d).

Research shows that humans have a negativity bias<\/a>, which means that negative events (losses) affect us more intensely than positive events (gains). In Thinking Fast and Slow<\/em><\/a>, Daniel Kahneman explains this as an evolutionary trait that emerged because humans were more likely to survive if they responded to threats more urgently than opportunities<\/a>. For example, running away to avoid a predator is more urgent than the opportunity to forage for some food.

Today, that instinct makes us base decisions more heavily on loss aversion than potential gain. As a result, telling someone to imagine missing<\/em> an opportunity and failing<\/em> has a much bigger impact than telling them to imagine how happy they\u2019ll be when you have their product.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want to know some of the best open-ended sales questions? What are the best techniques for asking open-ended questions? Author and sales expert Phil M. Jones wrote Exactly What to Say to teach readers how to use conversational selling to appeal to their customers’ subconscious minds. Jones claims that the best open-ended sales questions should help you to control the direction of the conversation. Keep reading for the best open-ended sales questions, according to Jones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":34322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,34,103],"tags":[881],"class_list":["post-90350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-communication","category-sales","tag-exactly-what-to-say","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Open-Ended Sales Questions for Undecided Customers - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are some of the best open-ended sales questions? 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