Impotent Questions - How Much Are They Costing You?

Last issue we talked about what motivates people to buy something. A person or a business is motivated to buy when they perceive that a change needs to occur to fix or avoid a problem, or to enable a greater vision for their future. They buy when they believe that a product or service will bridge this gap for them.

In other words, people are most likely to buy when they are in a state of trouble, or a state of tremendous opportunity. Some people will seek you out as a seller, and tell you this. These are the easy sales. Most people do not do this however. Most people stay in their comfort zones, desiring not to get too worked up over what's not happening in their lives.

Selling then, becomes a game of stirring up people's emotions. When you become aware that you have a problem that you must solve, your emotions change. You get concerned, frustrated, upset, worried, scared, or even angry. Just how intensely you react depends upon your perception of the magnitude and the imminence of the consequences.

Consequences.

In one word, you have the key to all selling and motivation. Consequences give rise to the experiencing of emotions such as fear, despair and anger, or hope, want and excitement. And it is the mere thought of experiencing these emotions that motivates you or anyone else.

My dictionary defines a consequence as follows: -"something that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition."

Once you think of taking an action, or not taking an action, and you consider the consequences of that decision, the opportunity for a strong emotion to be triggered has been setup. Whether the emotional response is a strong one or not, depends on you, and your own associations concerning a particular action.

The thought falling from the top of a 500 foot cliff, smashing onto the jagged, craggy rocks at the bottom, and becoming a bloody, gelatinous skin sack of red, pink, and purple would cause the emotion of fear in many people.

That is if you really think about it, and picture it in your mind.

What about sitting down and watching TV on a Saturday afternoon? That might trigger the emotion of boredom for some people. It might trigger relaxation, or escapism for another. To my wife it represents "being a loser". For me, it represents an opportunity to escape, and not to think about reality for just awhile.

Consequences trigger unique emotional motivations for every person. Not all are intense, and not all are enough to move someone to act, to make a decision, to buy something. The ones that do are the ones that we care about.

Asking questions that stir up consequences and uncover motivations is not a natural course of action for most people. I'm not sure exactly why this is, but I believe that it has something to do with politeness, and a cultural value that you shouldn't get too personal with people you don't know well.

Yet asking such questions is one of the most powerful things you can do as a persuader. "Isn't this manipulation?", some are of you are probably thinking. Well, yes. But is this a bad thing? You are helping people to access the emotions that will motivate them to solve their own problems. If they are to solve their problem (and solving that problem involves making a purchase), then they will do this sooner or later. By helping them with the process, you are helping them to get what they want.

How does one question then in such a persuasive manner? To effectively teach you this here would require about ten times as much space as I have already written. I can tell you a couple of things though. You probably question this way on only a rare occasion right now. Also, most of your questioning probably centers around getting factual information, that is what someone wants or doesn't want, what they have now, what they need, etc.

While useful to you, this information does not motivate your buyers. It helps you. But it does not really help your buyer. People bond with you, and want to buy from you when they believe you can help them get what they want. For this reason, too many sales calls end on a rather flat note.

Many people don't take their questioning to a deep enough level. This is why I created the Persuasive Questioning Techniques Sales Teleclass. I have been sharing these techniques with my personal one-on-one clients for the last couple of years, and I wanted to share these with more people.

In a live teleclass setting, I demonstrate precisely how this technique works. I role-play with you, and show you how to acquire this skill. You need to know what to do, and you need to practice it. It's not that difficult, but it does go against your nature a bit. I've seen great results in my clients success and my own business using these techniques.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

---

Leveraging Yourself Up To Executives When Selling

The fastest way to get a decision made is to... Read More

Write On The Money: The Ten Commandments (Plus Five) Of Profitable Sales Letter Writing

According to the Direct Marketing Association, in 2003 U.S. direct... Read More

Selling Services

Selling a service isn't the same as selling a product.... Read More

6 Steps on How to Install Confidence Into Your Clients

What methods can we use to install confidence into your... Read More

Writing Effective Sales Messages

A sales letter is a document designed to generate sales.... Read More

How Improve Conversion Rates

Do you know your conversion rates? Conversion rate is the... Read More

Refining Your Telephone Prospecting Techniques To Be A Master Closer!

Let me create a picture for you. This is the... Read More

The Trusted Advisor Relationship: What Is It, and What Should It Be?

For the past months, maybe a year, I've been hearing... Read More

Never Stop Selling

The question: "When should a growing company slow down its... Read More

Are You a Winner or Whiner?

I've found that winners say "I choose to." Whiners, on... Read More

How to create your own Unique Selling Proposition

Why would a prospect buy from you rather than from... Read More

9 Ways to Keep Clients Coming Back For More

A lot of effort is put into getting new clients.... Read More

Peddlers, Hucksters, & Empty Suits

Ever feel like you were "just a salesperson"? I think... Read More

Why Arent They Buying?

You've polished your sales page over and over againuntil it's... Read More

An Introduction to B2B Lead Generation

It is important that organizations find other companies to do... Read More

Where to Find Mannequins for Sale

Any time a clothing store opens or expands, they must... Read More

Sales Letters - How to Write Them

You could just send out your brochure to potential customers... Read More

How to Make Sure You Sell More!

Make sure you target women. It's true for almost anything... Read More

Leads, Prospects, and the Huge Gap Between

The leads marketing delivers to the sales team never seem... Read More

Sales Brochures - 9 Steps to Success

Even in this day of websites, many customers want to... Read More

What is a Pitch?

I've been training in countries outside the U.S. recently, and... Read More

Connecting with Customers

I just got off the phone with a friend of... Read More

Selling Skills - How to Handle the Dreaded Question Whats The Price?

I've written previously about how to attract customers and how... Read More

How To Get Your Mail Past The Gatekeeper And Into The Hands Of The Decision Maker GUARANTEED

There are several ways to get your information into the... Read More

10 Amazing Product Selling Formulas

1. Sell your products at a wholesale price to retail... Read More

Model Dell: The Art of the Affiliate Coupon

Along with having an innovative supply chain, there's another reason... Read More

How to Write Testimonials that Sell CDs Like Magic

"Which is your best CD?"Ever get that question? My band... Read More

What is Lead Generation?

Lead Generation is vital to all businesses. All companies try... Read More

Telephone Techniques

TELEPHONE TECHNIQUESSelling face to face is different from selling on... Read More

Create A Killer Product by Writing Your Sales Letter First!

You may not realize this, but when if you are... Read More

Get the Most Out of Your Current Customer

The customers you already have could be your biggest lead... Read More

How to Really Benefit from Associations (Part 1 of 3-Part Series)

Looking for new leads, new contacts, new business opportunities? Do... Read More

Open Source Selling? The Next Evolution? The Next Revolution

"Open-source" is typically found in the Information Technology area as... Read More