B2B Sales Unleashed: Rethinking Closed-Ended Questions and the Pursuit of 'Yes'"
Recommendation #3 out of 3.
Our third recommendation, following #1: "Listening to understand" and #2: "‘I’ is not your friend because no one cares," is centered around the use of closed-ended questions and the pursuit of a “Yes.”
But what if you were wrong twice in doing so? Wrong due to the closed-ended question and the chase for a “Yes.” It wouldn't necessarily be your fault. Not so long ago, sales training would advise both:
Closed-ended questions to quickly qualify your opportunity.
Chasing "Yes" based on the notion that if you answer "Yes" ten times consecutively to simple questions about buying, it becomes more challenging for your brain to say "no."
While this approach could work in some cases, depending on your sales type, it's crucial to know your game. However, in the realm of complex B2B sales, it won't take you very far.
Let’s revisit closed-ended questions as a tool to qualify. The more complex your solution, the less you'll sell on features and more on value. Closed questions yield insights into features and details. If you're seeking value, let your customer do the talking. Here, the "what, where, how, why, who" questions become your best friends to achieve your objective. Note that your organization might inform you about the value your solution brings, but refrain from telling your customer. Keep asking questions, and you might discover value you hadn't thought about. Importantly, your customer will find out the value by themselves, which can be much more impactful.
Now, the pursuit of “Yes.” This idea, popularized by psychologist Robert Cialdini, is known as the Consistency Principle. The questions asked are usually simple, no-brainers to the extent that when you're asked, an alarm in your brain goes off – something fishy is happening. When dealing with professionals (specifically B2B), this approach might fall short. One reason is that “Yes” does not necessarily mean “Yes,” especially in a multi-cultural environment.
The recommended approach, counterintuitively, would be to chase “No.” Because “No” means “No,” and saying “No” is easy. You don’t feel like giving up or exposing yourself. The misconception of the “No” is when you get a “No” to a question you were chasing a “Yes.” But if you are chasing a "No" and get one, you are on track with your plan. Using questions that prompt a "no" response in negotiations is rooted in behavioral psychology and persuasion techniques. This approach is often associated with the "negotiation reversal" or "reverse psychology" strategy. The underlying principle is that getting someone to say "no" can establish a psychological advantage and make them more open to a positive agreement later on. Additionally, allowing the other party to say "no" can make them feel more in control of the situation, fostering a sense of empowerment and creating a more positive and collaborative negotiation atmosphere.
In our art – because as salespeople, we are artists – it involves being in the now and in connection with our counterpart. Therefore, every new learning about human psychology is a plus, as our game keeps changing or evolving with science. Your technique, even if different, may work. The question would be: are you harvesting as much as you could compared to if you were applying these recommendations? One way to find out is to try them and see.
What are your thoughts on these recommendations?
How do you plan to apply them in your work?
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