3 Essential Sales Questions for Engaging and Productive Meetings

Why do some salespeople captivate their prospects, leaving them wanting more, while others find their prospects running for the hills? The answer lies in the art of asking good questions. Understanding what is most relevant to your prospect and how you can assist them is the essence of true selling.

1. What Are You Hoping to Get Out of This Meeting?

Starting your meetings with this question can serve as a shortcut to understanding your prospect's priorities. Essentially, you're asking, "In a perfect world, what outcome do you desire from this meeting?" This question sets the stage for discussing topics that are important to your prospect, thereby capturing their attention right from the start. By knowing their ideal outcome, you can tailor the conversation to address their needs directly.

This approach ensures that what you're discussing is precisely what the prospect wants to explore. Focusing on their needs is a surefire way to keep them engaged throughout the meeting.

2. What Do You Typically Look for in Partners Like Us?

This question is invaluable in understanding how you can best present your solution to your prospect. When discussing services, this question helps you identify the key criteria your prospect uses to evaluate potential partners. Knowing these criteria allows you to highlight the aspects of your solution that align most closely with their needs.

This strategy is equally effective in software sales. By discovering what your prospect looks for in similar software solutions, you can tailor your presentation to emphasize those features. Starting the meeting with this question helps you structure your pitch around the specific topics that matter most to your prospect.

3. What Would Be Most Helpful for You?

This question allows you to gather valuable feedback and use your prospect's language to present your solution. It's all about ensuring that your conversation is as relevant and helpful to them as possible.

To recap, the three questions that guarantee productive meetings are:

1)     What are you hoping to get out of this meeting?

2)     What do you typically look for in partners like us?

3)     What would be most helpful for you?

Incorporating these questions into your sales meetings will guide you on what to discuss, what solutions to present, and how to frame them in a way that resonates most with your prospects. Mastering these questions is the recipe for a successful sales meeting.

Don't forget to join the waitlist for my upcoming book, coming out early this fall and get a free download to learn the script I use to secure next steps in any meeting within five minutes and check out my Youtube channel for more sales tips!