Why Uncovering a Need or Pain Isn't Enough and What to do About it
Picture this: You’re a sales rep on a call, and the client finally hits that magical moment: they admit they have a problem or “pain.” Jackpot,...
5 min read
Dan Fisher : Oct 22, 2024 4:19:41 PM
The key to effective prospecting and uncovering sales opportunities is asking good discovery questions. When prospecting for new business, most salespeople in the staffing and recruiting industry tend to ask questions like:
Sales reps who ask these questions are seeking out pre-defined, budget approved job orders.
They are trying to find business.
This is a big problem. Here is why.
When you ask, ‘Do you have any hiring needs?’ you’re only discovering opportunities that already exist. Asking about hiring needs only uncovers what’s already obvious to the client. This is the definition of being an “order taker.”
When you visit the doctor, the doctor doesn’t ask, “do you need medicine?” Instead, the doctor asks questions to uncover symptoms, identify underlying problems, and then offers a solution.
Think of yourself as a doctor, and your client as the patient. If you ask, ‘Do you have hiring needs?’ It's like asking a patient, ‘Do you need surgery?’ It doesn’t help identify the real underlying issues. Instead, you should ask questions that help the client uncover problems that they might not even realize they have. For example, ‘What’s your biggest challenge in hitting your team’s goals this quarter?’ This opens up the conversation to explore areas where they may need help but don’t yet have a solution.
Remember, a hiring manager never gets approval to hire just because they ‘want’ more staff or have a 'need.' They must justify it by showing how (the hire) will solve a business challenge. Your role is to help them identify those challenges, such as meeting production targets, managing workloads, or improving team performance, which will build the case for bringing on more staff.
Sales Pain Probing Questions
In the context of selling, a pain probing question is a type of open-ended question designed to uncover a prospect's underlying problems, challenges, or pain points that may or may not be immediately visible. These questions help salespeople dig deeper into the customer’s current situation, revealing areas where the customer is struggling or where there are inefficiencies, which can then be linked to the solution the salesperson is offering (such as getting a job approved or hiring their candidate)
When engaged in a sales prospecting call you can’t just ask vague or generic probing questions like ‘What is keeping you up at night?’ These types of questions come across as cliché, self-serving, lazy, and insincere. And they fail to provide enough context for the customer to offer a meaningful and actionable response.
Wrapping Your Expertise Around Your Sales Probing Questions
In the context of selling, 'wrapping your expertise around your questions' means framing your questions in a way that demonstrates your knowledge and authority in the industry or subject matter. It involves embedding insights, data, or relevant context within your questions to showcase your understanding of the customer's challenges and provide additional value.
Instead of asking generic questions, you show that you have done your research and understand their situation. This approach helps build credibility, engages the prospect in a deeper conversation, and positions you as a thought leader.
For example:
In this example, you demonstrate that you are aware of common industry challenges and provide a context that makes the question more meaningful to the prospect. It shows that you are well-versed in the topic, prompting a more insightful and engaged response.
Additional Examples:
In this question, you reference customer experience as a differentiator and imply that successful companies are proactive, which helps frame your question with authority.
Wrapping your expertise around your questions is more effective at uncovering a customer’s pain point because it prompts deeper thinking, builds credibility, and creates a conversational context that makes the prospect more comfortable sharing their real challenges. Here's why this approach works better than asking a basic question:
1. Sets the Stage for Specific Pain Points
When you provide context before asking a question, you guide the prospect’s thinking in a particular direction. This increases the likelihood that they will reflect on specific, relevant pain points rather than giving a surface-level response. Basic questions often don’t set the stage effectively, leading to generic or less thoughtful answers.
Example:
When you demonstrate expertise, the customer sees you as someone who understands their industry, and they are more likely to open up about their challenges. It shows that you “get it,” which builds trust and encourages honesty. Customers are often reluctant to share their real pain points unless they believe the person asking genuinely understands the context and can help.
Example:
Basic questions tend to invite short or generic answers because they lack depth and do not encourage the prospect to explore their situation in detail. In contrast, wrapping your expertise around the question shows that you understand the nuances of their challenges, which prompts the customer to provide a more detailed answer about their specific pain points.
Example:
When you use your expertise to frame a question, you can introduce issues the customer may not have consciously considered or might have been hesitant to acknowledge. This approach can help surface underlying pain points that a basic question wouldn’t reveal because the customer may not recognize or feel comfortable discussing them without being prompted.
Example:
Benefits of Wrapping Yur Expertise Around Your Questions:
By wrapping your expertise around your questions, you create context, build credibility, and guide the conversation in a way that makes it easier for the customer to share their pain points. You are not just gathering information—you are leading the customer to explore the challenges they may have and helping them see you as someone who can help solve those challenges. This leads to a more honest and insightful conversation that reveals the true pain points, setting the stage for meaningful engagement and potential solutions.
Picture this: You’re a sales rep on a call, and the client finally hits that magical moment: they admit they have a problem or “pain.” Jackpot,...
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