Where are you Goin’? – Simply Sales with Scott

From Uncertainty to Excitement: Guiding Clients with the Right Questions

Contributed By: Scott Koepf, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)– Cruise Planners

 

There is a song from a musical that is not produced often that may seem to summarize the qualifying step in the sales process. In Paint Your Wagon, the gold rush has folks looking for riches but really have no idea where they are headed or what to expect. You may even get a similar response when you begin asking questions to a potential client:

 

 

Where am I goin’?

I don’t know

Where am I headin’?

I ain’t certain

All I know

Is I am on my way

When will I be there?

I don’t know

When will I get there?

I ain’t certain

All that I know

Is I am on my way

 

Given the amount of information on the internet and Social Media, most folks may not be this clueless, however it may be they are just overwhelmed with choices so that while they know they are ‘on their way’, they don’t know where yet. Obviously, this is the perfect opening for Travel Advisors to help them solidify what is in the next verse of the song:

 

Gotta dream boy

Gotta song

Now you need me

And come along

 

You are dream makers so helping clients determine where to go and the best to experience that destination is what you do best! However, asking the right questions is the only way to not only determine where clients want to go, but more importantly, why.

 

 

Sales is more like theatre than you may have ever imagined. Think of the list of questions used in qualifying as your script. Great scripts are revised constantly, and you need to do the same. In some cases, those revisions happen in the moment because they become personalized to the situation. This can include using the name of the customer but even better is reframing the question using the information you have already learned. The purpose of the question is not to recite it verbatim but to get the customer to share information as openly as possible so rephrasing it on the spot can lead to more in-depth disclosures.

 

Inside every salesperson there is a performer just waiting to go on stage! This is your chance to provide Tony worthy delivery of your questions and more. Being authentic needs to be primary so don’t exaggerate or fake enthusiasm. However, between your voice inflections and where you place your emphasis on words can change the reaction to anything you say. So just like when an actor gets a script, read each question over and over and in different ways. Soon it will not sound like you are reading it, and you will discover the most effective way to express the essence of the question. Just like on stage, the more spontaneous and natural a conversation sounds is the result of hours of practice and trying different approaches. 

 

Finally, make sure you stay fully engaged in the moment. Once again, we can learn from the theatre world through improvisation. I highly recommend signing up for improv classes as this is a skill you will use every day. Even though you may have a well-rehearsed script, the difference in sales is that your customer does not have the same script. So being able to react to and have fun with the evolving conversation may be what will create a lifetime customer. Most improv classes will tell you that the most foundational element of good improv is an attitude of ‘yes, and’. This means you should take what the other person is going with and go in the same direction versus ignoring their previous input and asking something non-related. Improv is just a heightened level of conversation and while it has gained fame for comedy, the process is just as effective in sales.

 

 

The right questions and good rehearsals are what create magical moments on stage and there is no difference in sales. I hope to see you on the red carpet soon!