There are three discovery questions surrounding the Decision Process that feel like cheating.
Imagine if, in a sales process, you just asked someone what their Decision Process was. Typically, they would start to think forward: this person would need to be contacted, and then that person would need to be involved, and so on. Thinking this way would likely result in missing the trickier details that you need to know about, as they wouldn’t come to mind straight away.
By instead asking what happened the last time they bought a solution like this, you encourage your prospect to look backward and to recall the actual steps that are involved. This can help you avoid obstacles that could arise later on.
In addition, if the person you’re speaking to hasn’t bought a solution like this before, it means you have some work to do together.
2. When we work with organizations like yours, we typically see this. What does it look like for you?
By bringing up a quantified pain like “typical churn of 20%”, it opens up space for the prospect to consider their experience, and potentially introduce some early metrics.
Often, customers don’t want to share metrics - either because they don’t trust you yet or they just don’t know them. By referring to other customers, not only do you show that you have earned the trust of other customers, but it can also encourage them to reflect on their own metrics.
3. It sounds like you have some next steps in mind…
This question, direct from the FBI negotiator himself, Chris Voss, helps to overcome even the most defensive customer. Rather than asking what the customer thinks you should do next, this question instils confidence in your prospect and makes them more likely to be open with you about taking things to the next level, and what that will involve.
Speeding up the decision process is crucial for shortening your time to close and making sure you win more deals, faster – so use these questions to save you and your customers time!