Good Evening San Diego
Answering Questions With Questions
Welcome to Commission Breath! The quick weekly newsletter that helps sales professionals stay on their game and be their best self. If you’re reading this but haven’t subscribed, you can do so here.
Happy Monday folks!
The first few editions of Commission Breath have been more of a case study to see if this is something people have an appetite for.
I’ve been getting positive feedback based on it being conversational, not super long, and still providing actionable takeaways.
If you like it, I’d appreciate you sharing it with a colleague, friend, pet, whoever! 🙏
Quick Question - What The Heck is Going On?!
We get asked a lot of questions from our prospects.
Can you tell me your price?
Do you have any competitors?
I’m Ron Burgundy..?
Many times though there’s a different question behind the question they’re asking us.
Classic example:
Late in the afternoon, little Jenny asks her parents in the most innocent voice possible, “What time is dinner?”
Jenny usually has a cookie snack after school, so her parents know the question behind her question is, “Is it too late for me to have a cookie before dinner?”
Reversing
Unfortunately Jenny’s questions are a little easier to see through than our prospect’s. Luckily there’s a technique called reversing - from the Sandler Sales Methodology - that helps us get past initial questions from prospects.
Reversing i.e. responding to a question with a question, gets prospects to redefine their initial ask and tell us what really matters to them.
Doing this lets you gather valuable info so you know what the prospect wants and why they want it before you answer the question.
Examples
Prospect Question —> Reversal
“When can you have that to me?” —> “When do you need it by?”
“Are you able to give a discount?” —> “What price were you thinking?”
"Can you just tell me your price?” —> “Is price the most important factor for you?”
The answers to the reverses will tell the motivation behind the original question, and give clarity on what’s actually important to the prospect.
Once you gain the understanding of their needs, your responses can be that much more effective.
Notes:
Softening statements like “I’m glad you asked”, “Good question”, etc. can be applied when necessary before a reversal
The Sandler rule says it takes 3 reversals to clear the smoke away
If a prospect repeats the same exact question twice - I just answer it so she/he doesn’t think I’m dodging it or trolling them
Be a Sales Doctor 🩺
Just as a doctor diagnoses first and prescribes medicine second, we shouldn’t prescribe our products/services before learning about the prospect’s pain points and needs.
Asking questions through reverses is how we can do that!
What Do You Meme?
Get it while you can, happy Shark Week everybody 🦈🦈
Interesting Finds
Uhhhh....Mustard Beer?
A little late with this one...but French’s & their very yellow mustard decided to make a beer 🥴
Disney's Mulan is Skipping Theatre’s
The live adaptation of the Disney classic (🔥 soundtrack) will be released via Disney Plus for $29.99 on September 4th
Google - Nest Buys $450M Stake in ADT
For consumer tech nerds like myself, this was big news. A smart thermostat notifying me I’m being robbed may not be useful, but idc it’s still cool!
Bojangles is Rebranding
For our non-southern readers who haven’t heard of this fast-food chain with 750+ locations, this is the first rebrand in its 43 year history. Chicken & biscuits anyone?
Food For Thought
Saw this and definitely agree with the sentiment.
Being in quarantine for 5 months with wayyy less social activity has allowed me to focus on more things I care about instead of what *I think* others do.
Won’t get too cliche on you guys, but at the end of the day you gotta do what’s best for you regardless of what others may think.
Have a great week and happy selling y’all!
-Buck$
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🎧 In my headphones:
P.S.
Please reach out with any questions, suggestions, or constructive feedback by emailing me: pdbuck15@gmail.com . I’d love to hear from you!