66 questions to navigate any sales process

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to navigate a sales processand to close any sale
fast
66 Questions
www.liinea.com/worshops
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asking questions is the most powerful way to
communicate to others to persuade and influence
them!
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Why questions drive sales forward more
effectively than any other form of dialogue?
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Sales is a process and you are a project manager
in this process. Like a sherpa guide leads you
through the rocky Everest to arrive to the top,
you need to lead your prospects through the sales
process. How do you do it? By asking the right
questions! 
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I have been leading hundreds of complex sales
with contract values of up to 1bn, I observed my
colleagues doing the same, Ive read hundreds of
books on effective selling and followed opinions
of the experts. All these allowed me to create
a unique sale process map driven by the right
questions. Following these steps and asking the
right questions will help you navigate and close
any sale! And remember, asking questions is a
skill, and the only way to improve and become a
master at it is by constant practicing, at work
but also at home!Regards, Karina Collis, MBA
Founder of Liinea Sales Advisory  
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Identify decision making process
Create value and offer a trial
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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process

• Frame
• (Introduce the topic, build credibility and
  establish rapport)
• Give a business justification, company story
• Talk about market trends and share insights (Are
  you aware of a recent study that)
• Set up agenda, for example lets go through what
  is relevant to your firm and were we can add
  value

• Qualify
• (Understand if this prospect is suitable for your
  solution)
• Let me ask you few questions to better understand
  your business so we can determine how you can
  benefit the most from our solution
• What are you currently using?
• How is your process organised?

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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process

• If the prospect asked for a meeting
• (Estimate how fast you can close the deal)
• What motivated you to invite us to talk about ?
• Have you researched the question extensively?
• Have you used products like this before?
• Do you have a list of evaluation criteria? Could
  you rate them in terms of importance to you?
• What are your decision criteria?
• Are you talking to any other vendors?
• Is it something you are looking to do now or
  later? (and why do you want to do it now?)

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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process
Find the problem (Uncover your prospects needs
in order to provide them with a useful solution)

• Ask about the desired performance
• In an ideal world, how do you see this process
  being organised?
• If improvements were possible, what are the first
  things youd like to see changed?
• What would you like to see improved about what
  you are using now?

• Ask directly
• Are there any issues you face with respect to
  ?
• Have you experienced any challenges with ?
• Are you ever concerned that ?
• How satisfied are you with ?How much time on
  average do you spend per month on ? Is it
  right to say that this time could be minimised?
  Is it a challenge for you?

• Ask about the future goals
• What are your future goals? Are you planning to
  scale? Where do you want to be in a years time?
  gtgt Does the current set up allow you to achieve
  this goal? What is lacking in the current process
  that might slow down your growth?

• State the challenge
• Many companies we are working with are facing
  this challenge state the challenge. Are you
  experiencing this too?
• A recent study by highlighted that the
  biggest challenge of businesses similar to yours
  is . Would you say that it is true for your
  business?

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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process
Expand the problem Make the problem bigger by
showing its consequences, create a burning
platform

• What is the cost of the issue?
• How much is this issue costing you?
• Is it leading to increased cost?
• How much time do you spend on this? How else
  could you spend this time if it wasnt an issue?
• How much of your time or money is it going to
  take to fix it?
• Understand urgency
• How would you describe the importance of fixing
  it here?
• What happens if you dont address this problem
  now?
• What could you accomplish with an extra time
  gained each week?
• How would you use extra money/time..
  saved/gained?

• Estimate the scope of the challenge
• How big of a problem is it for you?
• How important is it to you that ?
• How long has that been going on?
• Have you tried to do something to fix it?
• Find out the root of the problem
• Why do you think it is happening?
• Where do you think the cause is coming from?
• How the problem affects the business
• What effect does that have on ?
• Is it slowing your growth?
• Have you ever missed any opportunities because of
  ?

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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process

• Identify the decision making process
• (Identify the key decision makers and the
  required steps)
• If we could offer you a solution that could
  resolve all the discussed issues, what would be
  our next step? Could you sign the contract
  yourself or do you need to involve other people?
• Could you explain your decision making process
  please?
• How does the approval process normally work?
• Have you bought a similar type of products before
  ? What was the decision making process?
• Who is in charge of the purchasing decision?
• Is there anyone else that you would want to
  include in this conversation who might be
  involved in this kind of a decision?
• Who else would benefit from learning about the
  product?
• What are the steps we need to go through for you
  to become our customer? 

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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process

• Confirm value and offer a trial (Hear from the
  prospect how useful the solution would be)
• Would this help? / Would it be useful if ?
• If you could , would that be a big benefit to
  you?
• What benefits do you see?
• Why is making a change a priority for you now?
• Why is it important?
• Is there any other way it might help?
• Will it save money?
• Can you see how our solution can help you to
  solve ?
• Do you see yourself using it?
• Why dont you give it a try?
• Whats stopping your from having a free trial and
  testing if we are able to solve all your issues
  or not?

• Close a trial
• (advance and close the deal)
• What is your impression so far?
• Based on what you know so far, does this sound
  like something you can benefit from?
• Based on what you know so far, what do you think
  about the the product?
• What questions and concerns do you have (that we
  need to address before making a decision)?
• What are outstanding questions that should be
  covered?
• What do you need to see from us to make you feel
  confident about the platform?

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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process
Questions to navigate a sales process

• Identify objections
• (Reveal roadblocks to advance the deal)
• Do you have any concerns about ?
• You seem a little worried about . What are
  your thoughts?
• Can you see any roadblocks that might stop you
  from buying ?
• How confident do you feel about achieving your
  objectives from implementing our solution? Why?
• Other than objection, is there any other reason
  you would not go ahead now? If wasnt a
  problem, would you go ahead?
• If we find a workable solution for objection,
  will you go ahead?

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Questions to guide a buyer thorough the sales
process
Questions to navigate a sales process

• Advance the deal
• (And close it!)
• Where do you want to go from here?
• What do you think we should do from here?
• What information can I provide you to help you
  advance internal conversations?
• Is there any information I can provide to support
  the internal conversations?
• At this point, do you need more validation or
  evidence of the benefits to support your internal
  conversation ?
• Should I send you the draft contract for review?
• How fast could you make the decision?
• If this decision was only up to you, where do you
  stand? Are you ready to get this?

Chase the answer until the contract is signed
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