10 Questions to Help You Close More Sales More Easily
I love sales and one of my first jobs was selling shoes at a local family owned shoe store. I was only 15 years old, but I made enough money to pay for my flying lessons at the local airport and got my pilot’s license. When I walk by that store today it brings back very fond memories.
For me, sales has never been about “selling.” The last thing I want is to take someone’s hard earned money just so they walk out the door with a product I’m selling.
Sales is about helping someone make the right decision based on their desires and needs.
To find out someone’s specific desires and needs (both material, and emotional), you’ll have to ask some questions.
So when bride or groom makes an inquiry at your website, or you are face-to-face and the only thing they want to know is THE PRICE, you have to immediately take control of the sales interview and you do that by asking questions.
When I owned my limousine business and a bride or groom asked me: “How much?” my answer in person, on the phone, or via email would always be:
“Would you mind if I ask you a few questions first?”
or
“… any chance we could get on the phone for a few minutes, I have a few questions that always like to ask couples before we decide to work together?”
If you want to close more sales, or close more sales more easily, your ability to control the sales interview is critical. People who have high close ratios know this. Asking questions and listening is how they do it.
The formula is rather simple:
1) Ask questions
2) Listen
3) Respond
4) Ask another question
5) Listen some more
6) Respond
6) Go back to step #1
The key to closing more sales starts with creating rapport. You do that by asking questions (not lecturing!).
Here are 10 questions that are proven to get the ball rolling and ultimately will help you book more weddings.
Q: How’s your wedding planning going?
Q: Describe your perfect wedding day?
Q: Do you mind me asking, <then ask a question you NEED an answer for>?
Q: Have you been to a wedding lately?
Q: What did you like about it, what didn’t you like about it?
Q: How many other <your category of services here> have you talked to or interviewed?
Q: What are the three things that are most important to you in choosing a <your category of services>?
Q: And what is the price range you are looking to spend for <your category of services here>?
Q: Is there anything we haven’t talked about that you’d like to ask me?
Q: Would you like to do some paperwork?
Chris Jaeger produces Book More Weddings and writes the BOOK MORE WEDDINGS NEWSLETTER (weekly). He is the Founder and Director of the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WEDDING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS (IAWIP) and a wedding industry marketing veteran with more than 20 years of experience marketing to brides and grooms.
