Open-Ended Sales Questions to Get Your Prospect Talking

In sales, you always seek open-ended questions to keep the conversation running. During a sales process, you need to ask the right questions to uncover some understanding. What helps this conversation is open-ended questions. These questions can give you the information you are looking for from the very beginning.

Asking these questions is more of an art that a salesperson should master. There are some tips that we would like to share with you that you can implement. Using them with an efficient customer solution will help you gain more out of your prospects.

Qualities of an Open-Ended Question:

The main thing in a conversation is to never box your prospect with your questions. Ask them questions that lead you to another sentence or question. Avoid all those questions that will give you “Yes” or “No” as your answer.

If you don’t know what close-ended questions are like, don’t worry, that’s why we are here. Such questions sound like,

“Are you running your business in so-and-so industry?”
“Are you facing any challenges with your current solution/ product?”
On the other hand, an open-ended question will sound something like this,
“So in this industry, what are the challenges you are facing right now?”
“How do you feel about a custom solution for your business?”

These are the questions that do not end with some straight answers. Answers to these questions contain more details and information than close-ended questions.

So to build up an open-ended question, keep these three points in mind.

Initial Question: Start your question with the information that you already have. Then connect that sentence with a question that will require your prospect to answer in detail.

Follow-Up: Now, as per the information from your prospect, ask a question that will take you deeper into the conversation.

Ending Question: Now assure them how you are planning to aid them in one or two sentences. Follow it with a question that will clarify the type of service or product your prospects need for their business.

How to Create One?

Once you get your first discovery call with a prospect, you might hope to get the information with your cold questions. It sure will save you time and help you know your prospect’s interest. It may be your style, but it will close the conversation immediately.

But putting your questions more bluntly, try to ask these questions gradually. Create the flow of conversation instead of ending it in an instant. The main purpose of asking these questions gradually is to make the prospect more comfortable with you. The more comfortable they get, the easier the conversation will be. And an easy conversation will help you gather more information without doing much.

So let’s focus on how we can create some good open-ended questions.

Start With More General Questions:

Beginning your conversation with really general questions gives your prospects the feeling that they are one in control of the conversation. This is where they realize how they are holding the door, and they can shut it or keep it open for you.

You can ask,

“Hello, can we talk a little about your business?”
“Can I know how you got into this industry?”
“What do you like the most about your niche?”

It is expected that the lead has already filled your form, which is why you are having the conversation. Asking questions like this represents you as a polite salesperson. You will act as a person who is asking for permission to initiate the conversation.

Capture Their Interest:

In a conversation, you need to listen and observe your prospect too. You can not just keep the conversation one-sided. You need to respect the interest and contribution of your prospect too.

During the conversation, listen to your prospect’s tone. Read their body language and facial expressions. Reading all these will help you know if the prospect is genuinely interested in the conversation or not. If they are just answering your questions, then it is not a good sign, and you should change the way you approach.

Practicing this step will improve your call/ conversation quality.

Prospect’s Evaluation Process:

Evaluation process? Yes, so many people use certain criteria to find a suitable solution for their businesses. Putting different solutions under their criteria saves their time, and they trust it so much.

So when you are in a conversation with your prospect, it will be good to ask them if they have any evolution process. It would be a bummer if you made a successful call only to find out that your solution does not meet their criteria.

Never Forget to Ask About The Budget:

Budget is the factor that will have the biggest impact on the decision-making process of your prospect. So many people prefer solutions that are under or equal to their budget. To cross the limit of their budget, you need to show them what makes your solution better than others.

Before giving those reasons, first, you need to know the budget of your prospect. There is no fixed timing for asking about the budget. Just put it into conversation gradually whenever it feels appropriate.

Now Close The Call:

Never end your call without telling your prospect what the next step will be. For example, if you feel like the customer wants to dive a little deeper, tell them that you will email them solutions details at X time or date. Assuring your prospect before ending the call helps in initiating the future conversation. Taking the next step is necessary to convert prospects into loyal customers.

Wrapping The Article:

Keeping the conversation open is a hard skill that will take a little time to master. Open-ended questions are one way to qualify your leads in a short time. By following the above-mentioned steps, you can easily make your sales call more effective. Answers to these questions will filter all the prospects that are the right fit for your solution.