When Your Question Turn Into Sales

Turn Challenging Questions into Sales
Make the sales process a collaborative one and you'll find yourself in the position of trusted advisor instead of just another company trying to make a sale.

One of the most difficult and feared situations in selling is getting hit with hard to answer questions early in the sales process. Questions such as: "Why should I buy from you?" and "What makes your product better than your competitor's?" For most salespeople these questions are an irresistible invitation for what I refer to as the "Presentation Trap," an open invitation from the customer to "tell me all about your product." Most salespeople jump at the opportunity and declare why their company is better than the competition's and in most cases this wastes time for both the customer and the salesperson.

The exceptional salesperson will turn even the toughest questions into an opportunity to help their customer and themselves more clearly understand the situation and determine if their solution is actually a fit. They recognize the key thought -- "Prescription without Diagnosis is malpractice."

To demonstrate this, think about how a doctor would respond to a question from a patient, before the doctor has completed a diagnosis. The patient asks, "Why should I choose you for my surgery?" The doctor's response would likely be: "I'm not sure that you should. There are many fine surgeons here at the hospital and at this point I don't know enough about your condition to recommend surgery or if I would be the right surgeon for the job. Let me ask you this..."

Link:http://www.inc.com/resources/sales/articles/20070401/jthull.html