What do you need to pick up from the grocery store?
Simple question.
The look on the rep's face seemed to acknowledge that fact. It also communicated something else. She couldn't think of a thing.
I know it's kind of a random question. Let me set the stage a bit. We had just called on one of her customers. And while we waiting for our lunch, we were doing a little post sales call debrief – I wanted to get her to think about a couple of the conversations I'd just observed. She had made a good attempt to find out what the customer's business challenges were . . . had asked some broad questions about strategic initiatives for the year, big picture goals – the kind of information that can help a rep know how to position their solution. And on more than one occasion her probing questions had provoked little more than a puzzled look . . . the same kind of puzzled look that was on her face right now.
"Sausage".
Seriously? That's all you need from the grocery store? Sausage?
I reframed my question. Let me just get you to think about the cleaning aisle . . . you know – the aisle where they have laundry detergent, bathroom cleaners, floor cleaners. Do you need anything from that aisle?
Yes . . . Tide and Lysol.
What about the dairy department – need anything there?
Cheese.
Why was this rep able to identify her needs when I asked her to think about individual aisles but unable to call them to mind when I asked her to think about the entire store (with the exception of sausage of course)?
And does the answer to that question have anything to do with our sales prospect's occasional inability to answer some of our broad, big picture questions we pose about their business?
In Made to Stick, authors Chip and Dan Heath describe two exercises in which participants are asked a set of similar sounding questions and given a limited amount of time to respond. The first set of questions – a. make a list of all the "white things" you can think of and b. list all the "white things" you can think of in your refrigerator. The second set of questions – a. list 10 silly things people have done in the past ten years and b. list 10 silly things your children have done in the past ten years.
In both cases people generally found it easier to answer the second question. Why? Certainly there are more "white things" in the entire world than there are in my refrigerator. And "the silly things my kids have done" is just a small subset of all the silly things that everyone combined has done.
The answer according to the Heath brothers is a matter of concreteness. In both cases the second question provides a concrete way to focus the brain. Instead of the entire world of possible answers – the whole grocery store, I'm only asking you to think about a concrete portion of that world . . . one aisle.
In sales conversations, narrowing the scope of my discovery questions will not only improve the quality of information I'm able to uncover but may in fact make it easier (and therefore more comfortable) for my prospect to respond. The increase in comfort will in itself improve the conversation.
So instead of "What are your primary objectives for the coming year?" which is the business equivalent of "What do you need from the grocery store?" you might want to ask, "How is your company planning to take advantage of (a particular opportunity)?" or "How are you guys dealing with (a specific problem)?"
A final thought. In my conversation with the rep, I suggested the cleaning aisle. She remembered she needed Tide. If I had suggested the meat department, she may have remembered that she needed to pick up a couple of steaks. If I had suggested the snack aisle, she may have thought of chips. But I didn't. By narrowing the conversation to a concrete area, I not only made it easier for her to consider my question and come up with an answer, but I focused her attention on problems she had in the aisle that I selected. I have the same opportunity in my conversations with prospects. As I ask questions, I have the opportunity focus their thinking on particular areas of their business.
Which areas?
Well that depends. If my strongest solution is "fresh vegetables," I'm not going to ask about the challenges they're facing in the area of breakfast cereal.
