Four Reasons to Ask a Research Question

Four Reasons to Ask a Research QuestionThe research question, which is asked of a potential client during the sales or service call, is arguably the most important question you will ask as a salesperson. Here are four reasons why the question is so important to ask.

One: The first and most obvious reason is that it can give you the insight into what is on your prospect's mind. If they have been a good customer in the past and have indicated to you that they have a problem with something in their past then you can use the research question to get a real good idea of what kind of experience they might have with that particular issue.

Two: The second reason for asking the question is to help you get into the mind of your client's past customers. It can be a useful exercise to have them tell you how they came to purchase from them again and what they were satisfied with.

Three: Questions like these can also give you a good idea of where to take your conversation with your client. You can start by asking the question 'What are the main things that you would want or need changing about this product or service?'

Four: Another reason for using this type of question is to get the product or service that you have to offer both up front and in the long term. It helps you to come up with a sale or service offer that satisfies your prospect and reduces the risk of them cancelling the sale because you did not keep them informed about something they did not want to know about.

When you ask this type of marketing question you not only establish a rapport with your prospect but you also try to manage any concerns you may have about their future usage of the product or service. You can begin by asking them to state clearly what it is that they have heard or read that they do not like about the product or service and it will give you an opportunity to go in and clarify things with them in order to make sure that you are giving them exactly what they are looking for.

In order to be successful at using this marketing question in your sales call, you have to be able to understand and speak the language of your prospect. However, if you are not able to understand their language and need help with it, then you may need to get some training on sales language and the language of a prospect so that you can become comfortable in that particular area.

One of the best ways that you can get training in sales language for your current skills level is to attend a sales meeting that is being run by the good sales and marketing coach who have the language and knowledge base that is needed to answer the questions that a salesperson will ask. You will be able to listen to others speaking and you will be able to answer their questions and better yourself by having someone teach you new techniques that you can put to use in your own sales and marketing training.