You know open-ended questions are great for keeping conversations going, but what about high-gain questions? These kinds of questions also lead to dialogue, but they’re more efficient. Instead of having a meandering discussion, when you ask high-gain questions, you spark a more thought-provoking dialogue and prompting the prospect to think about their business, pain points and potential solutions.

Molly Clarke, the product marketing director at Salesforce, says high-gain questions should be a sales rep’s best friend because they’re open-ended in nature and structured so that prospects provide the most valuable information in the shortest amount of time.

In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we highlight some types of high-gain questions that can help you close more deals.

  1. Decision-maker magnets. Clarke says these are questions that help you get the appropriate contacts on the phone. You could ask, “Who is responsible for purchasing promotional products at your company?” or “Is there anyone else you think I should speak to about this?”
  2. Door-openers. Try using these questions to get prospects quickly engaged in the conversation, even when the outreach wasn’t prompted. Clarke says you could ask something like, “How are you holding up, given the [seasonal or timely problem]?” Maybe it’s the summer rush or back-to-school planning.
  3. Pain point identifiers. Uncovering the prospect’s pain points is one of the most crucial steps in any sales conversation, Clarke says. Some high-gain questions include, “What led you to take this call today?” and “How long have you been dealing with this problem?”
  4. Timeline questions. All successful deals have timelines. By asking high-gain questions in your conversations with prospects, you can arrive more efficiently at the mutually agreed-upon timeline. Ideas include, “When do you hope to have a solution in place?” and “Barring any roadblocks, how long do you think this decision will take?”
  5. Competitive assessment. You should always know what other solutions your prospect is considering. You don’t want to get the rug pulled out from under you when you feel like you’re about to close the deal and the prospect goes with a competitor. Try asking high-gain questions like, “How have you attempted to solve this issue in the past?” and “How does my offering stack up to the others you’re evaluating?”

When it comes down to it, a sales rep’s success comes down to the quality of their questions – and not just the content, but how they present those questions. Start asking more high-gain questions to get the information you need to convert more prospects into clients.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Molly Clarke is the product marketing director at Salesforce. She has more than 12 years of B2B experience in organizational alignment, sales operations and more.