Have you ever had a prospect who plays his feelings on your product or service close to the vest? In other words, have you had a prospect who simply won't share much of his opinion one way or the other? These days many prospects hide behind nebulous stalls like, "Let me think about it," or "I'll run this by the committee," and it's often hard to know where they stand. It gets worse when you try to set an appointment to get back with them only to hear, "I'll get back to you."

If you're struggling with prospects like this, then Promotional Consultant Today passes along these key questions to ask your prospects. Learn to let your prospects fully answer the questions. While this may sound easy to do, it takes patience and skill to learn how to fully listen long enough for prospects to tell how they really feel.

Q1: "You know, we all buy emotionally and go with our gut feelings. Share with me: What is your gut telling you is good about our solution, and what is it telling you isn't so good?"

Q2: "I'm sure you're weighing this purchase against some of our competition, so tell me, in what ways are we better than your next option, and in what ways are we weaker?"

Q3: "You've probably heard of the old Ben Franklin way of making a decision haven't you?" (Wait for a response) "Ben would make a list of all the reasons to make a decision to move forward with something, and all the reasons not to. If the reasons were stronger to move forward, he would.

"So tell me, what are the reasons, as you see them, for moving forward with this, and what are the reasons not to?"

Q4: "I know there are other people who need to weigh in on the final decision on this, so tell me, if you had to put a wager on it, would you bet there will be more votes on moving forward on this or more votes against it?" (Wait for response) "And why is that?"

Q5: "Now, I know you like what we have, and there are probably some things you don't like. Tell me, if we could deliver more of what you DO like, what would that be?" (Wait) "And if we could give you less of what you don't like, what would that be?" (Wait) "And why is that?"

Q6: "Some people love our company and some people— believe it or not— hate it. Tell me, what do you love about us, and what do you hate about us that is preventing you from moving forward right now?"

As you can see, these scripts are designed to get someone who is noncommittal to begin opening up and to tell you where they stand— both positively and negatively. Once you know where someone is emotionally and logically connected with your product or service, you'll have the leverage to adjust your close and get closer to a sale.

Source: Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of the top 20 percent of performers.