Funnel Questioning In Sales

So, you have a list of questions that either you or your bosses have prepared. Or maybe you have only the one of your company’s activities – repairs. In the latter case, you have to come up with few questions. 👍

You can have 2-3 or several dozen questions. The company, and maybe you, spent time writing them. And now you want a client spend his (her) time answering all these Great 😊😊😊 questions.

I will give an example with a survey of car owners. All automobile manufacturers do love to call new cars customers for their opinion. A caller asks all questions from the first cover to the last cover of a questionnaire. The whole survey can last 30-60 minutes. There are boring questions in it. There are repetitive questions in it. At the same time, a caller does not bother to miss the repetitive questions. And, of course, he or she could skip boring questions. 😊😊😊

Therefore, when they call me and ask if I can answer the questions of an automaker, I propose to limit it to 10 minutes. In this case, there are 2 possible outcomes of our conversation:

• The first – a caller continues to insist for 30 minutes. I say goodbye and put the phone down.
• The second – a caller tries to choose questions. And then we get an interesting 10 minutes interview.

There are 2 facts From this example:

1. always set priorities for questions;
2. exclude those questions that have already been answered. Or rephrase them to get more information.

Next, I demonstrate the techniques of working with funnel questions:

• Set priorities for questions
• Pass from the general to the specific
• Pass from the specific to the general

Set priorities for questions

My example: sale, repair and exchange of auxiliary power unit (APU) for Boeing 737CL. So, we need to understand where potential customers repair APU for Boeing 737CL.

My list of questions looks approximately 😊😊😊 so:

• Who is responsible for repairing APU?
• Who is responsible for purchasing APU?
• Which models of APU are installed on aircraft?
• What is the repairs schedule of APU for this year?
• What is the budget for repairing APU for this year?
• Do you consider exchange deals?
• Where are APUs being repaired?
• Where are APUs being bought?
• Who sales APU to you?
• How many APUs were repaired last year?
• Do you have an exchange pool?
• How many APUs were bought last year?

Now all these series of questions must be passed through the filter. For example, it is my first contact to a client. In this case, I will ask him (her):

• Who is responsible for repairing APU?
• Is the same person responsible for purchasing APU?
• What is the repairs schedule of APU for this year?
• Plus one more question – this question I will ask the last in this session.

These questions will suffice for the first contact. I found out who is responsible for the direction – my companion or someone else. Also, I clarified the need for APU, if my telephone companion told me this 😊😊😊. On this need, you can make an approximate budget without straining a companion with intimate commercial topics.

On the next contact, I’ll ask a client the next set of questions.

Pass from the general to the specific

The task of this technique is to go down from general information to specific. In this case, questions about APU are asked in this order:

• What are models of APU installed on aircraft?
• When do you plan to repair APU?
• Who will repair APU?
• Why will you repair APU there?

Pass from the specific to the general

Now the task of turning back – move from specific information to a broader view of the discussion subject.

This technique is suitable for finding cross-selling opportunities. It is understood that you have already established a relationship with a client for APU, even if it was one day ago 😊😊😊. And now you expand your presence in the client’s business:

• What repairs do you plan to carry out this year?
• Who is responsible for these repairs?
• Who responsible for purchasing other components?
• Tell me about the repair process itself.
• What components are you repairing yet?
• What can you tell me more?

Summary

Prioritize the questions before asking a client. Combine the techniques “from the general to the specific” and “from the specific to the general”. 😎🤘