Thia is part three of a five part series on major change issues for b2b sales. Today’s discussion will be on the third major issue of the movement away from the presentation model of b2b selling to the Questioning Model of B2B Selling.
I have been discussing the need for more and better uses of the Questioning Model during several b2b sales tips. Yet, again I believe it needs to be discussed continuously to show how important this is becoming.
The Questioning Model of B2B Selling is more important than ever and the presentation model of b2b selling is dying rapidly. Therefore, you must be better prepared to use the effective questioning, if you want to stay in the game of b2b sales.
Today, b2b sales people must master the questioning model of b2b selling. You must be willing to take a customer oriented look at opportunities – like a business person who sells – and assist the executive to self-discover solutions and ways to differentiate their company in the marketplace.
The old presentation model was great during the times when a sales person knew more about their products and services than the buyers or decision makers within the customer organization. Today, the customer or prospect usually knows more about what they want, who provides the products and has comparison facts provided via the internet.
The questioning model when used effectively demonstrates your knowledge about their company, wisdom regarding their industry trends and experience levels in implementing these solutions with other organizations. In other words, no surprises and no major issues during the change process. These are the exact issues which usually keep the buyers from making any type of change – even if it is felt to be a better way of doing business!
Since we are dealing with human beings rather than robots or computers, our people skills can separate us from the thundering herd of pushy, self-promoting b2b sales people. Learning how to gain rapport and flexing to the personal styles of the many buyers, influencers and decision makers in your customer or prospect organizations can make a serious difference in the nature of your conversations. Add in the power of good questions and you have an opportunity to be a difference maker with your customers and prospects – without making any pitch, sales presentation or saying anything stupid like – we’re the leading distributor of brand X widgets! As any teenager will say – “boring!”
If you have not been exposed to the questioning model of b2b sales, spin some time finding some of the modern b2b sales books – including my e-book the Three Games of Selling (spend some time in the second game of “Active Selling” to learn the base questioning model.) or contact me for an up to date list of books on the topic of questioning for b2b sales success.
Voss Graham
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