Do you want to increase your sales and add to your company's revenue? Of course you do (that is probably the main reason you became a sales professional to begin with).

Keep in mind, you can't make someone buy something they don't want (even though that seems to be the universal fear from the general population, regarding sales people), so you have develop a need in their mind, for what you are selling. One of the best ways to increase your sales results, is to increase the amount of probing you do. The more you know about what your customer is looking for, the more you can tailor you sales pitch to their needs.

What is Probing?
It is simply asking questions of your potential customer, to find out what they are doing now, or how they use a certain product, or what they like about a product, or what they would change about a product. Any questions that get them to open up and start a discussion, so that you can learn as much as possible about how to position your product for them, in the best way possible. The more questions you can ask, the better chance you will uncover problems they are having with their present product or system. When you uncover a problem, then you have just had them develop a need in their mind. If your product can fill that need, you have a great chance to make a sale!

Asking questions is the best way to gain the knowledge of what is most important to them, but make sure to ask as many open-ended questions (questions that can't be answered by a simple yes or no response) as possible. For instance: Instead of asking if they like the widget that they are presently using, ask what they like about it, or ask what changes they would like to make, that would make it function better for them. If a customer tells you that they would change the color from red to green, for instance, and your product is green, than you have the perfect entry to show your green product and make the sale. Of course, it probably won't be that simple, but you don't know their hot buttons until you Probe.

There are numerous reasons that someone buys something; price, quality, status, desire, can't get from present supplier, like the rep, company reputation (the list can go on and on), but unless you ask your customers probing questions, you aren't going to uncover what is important to them (unless you stumble across something inadvertently).

Probing includes listening skills.

Keep in mind that asking Probing questions is great, but it won't mean anything unless you listen to your potential customer's answers. Make sure to give your customer time to answer before you jump in with a solution to their problems. That is a common mistake for sales people to want to show how good their product is, but by careful listening, and waiting, you might uncover other needs that you can address, also.

You probably aren't going to be able to fill a need each time you talk to a potential customer, but by utilizing Probing questions, you have increased your chances of making a sale exponentially.

About the Author

John W. McGraw has been a successful sales representative, consultant, and business owner in the Medical Industry for over 25 years. He has sold for some of the most prestigious companies in the industry (including GE Medical, Roche, Pfizer-owned Schneider, and Instrumentation Laboratory) achieving top rankings, President's Club status, and exceeding sales quotas. Mr. McGraw has consistently made a positive impact on countless patient's lives with the quality products and services that he has sold to world renown Hospitals. In passing on his considerable knowledge to others, Mr. McGraw hopes he can help them be more successful in their professional careers.

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