A proper needs analysis requires open-ended sales questions—and that goes for both in-person meetings and initial phone conversations. Characteristics of Open-Ended Sales Questions: They are conversational. Shape You can: Because you’ve asked open-ended questions (as in: questions that your customers need to elaborate on as opposed to picking their answer from a given set), you will need a system to categorize them and start identifying trends. It’s a manual process that requires a spreadsheet and this step-by-step guide to analyzing open-ended questions. From the Hotjar dashboard, start a new survey and give it a descriptive title (it will appear at the top of the page your customers see): Add the questions one by one; you are obviously free to tweak the 5+1 questions we showed above and adapt them to your needs. While you do that, use Hotjar Surveys and prepare a written survey to email your customers or share as soon as they have completed a purchase—this will help you some extra data, faster. Product Questions to Ask Throughout Your Product Development Life Cycle Brian Dean, for example, developed and marketed an $1,000 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) course to a beginner crowd, while his real customers were SEO professionals who wanted to scale their businesses and/or take their efforts to the next level—and Brian didn’t know until he asked. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(53, '9e0873d2-fbbf-4000-8d42-ecafbebb69e8', {}); Originally published Apr 22, 2020 2:00:00 PM, updated April 28 2020, 41 Sales Questions to Ask a Customer to Determine Their Needs, Customer Code: Creating a Company Customers Love, 8 Reasons Why Prospects Don't Buy from You, A Step-by-Step Guide to the MEDDIC Sales Qualification Process. They have confusing wants and needs. Sometimes it’s as simple as this: there isn’t a problem with your product; the problem is you’re talking to the wrong audience. As a salesperson, your job is to discover their core needs quickly and succinctly. As a salesperson, your job is to discover their core needs quickly and succinctly. You start with a positive clarification statement then quickly follow with a way the client can buy from you. The answer tells you about your unique selling proposition . In this piece, we take you through 5 of the best questions to ask your customers about the products and services you’re selling. Get a free Hotjar trial, send a survey to your customers with the 5 questions mentioned in this article, and understand what to do to improve. Sometimes the toughest part of getting customer feedback is knowing what information to collect and what questions to ask your customer. Marketing automation software. There are dozens of points in a buyer’s journey where they may be tempted to back out. First, it helps you to confirm whether or not the prospect is a good fit for your product. Is it keyword research? Save this question for the end of your survey. Sure, I can get my money back if it doesn’t work out, but how much time will I waste in the … Talk about customer satisfaction 4. While it’s useful to find out what your customers enjoy about your product, some of the most important information you can gather is what customers dislike. T… Long-term goals?" Important Questions To Ask Customers When Selling a Product: ... You should have a good idea about the industry because most importantly they are going to ask you to sell a product that belongs to their company. I don’t mean ‘spend thousands of dollars on customer panels’ or ‘research an industry-defining report on customer expectations’: I mean take 30 literal minutes out of your day to get on a call with an existing customer, or create a quick survey and email it to people who have already bought one (or more) of your products. Understanding Customer Needs Starts with Asking the Right Questions. What if it turns out to be a bad fit for the way I go about doing things. Asking incisive sales questionsis essential for success. It also allows you to qualify the sale and ensures that you and the buyer are on the same page at any given time. These questions are vital for product development, and the more honest the feedback, the better. Instead, ask them for their feedback – often. Now that you’ve seen the questions you’ll need, it’s time to use them in a customer survey. Your USP may not be something physical or tangible like a product, but instead be more thematic or emotional. Whether you’ve just launched a new product that isn’t selling as much as expected or you’re wanting to sell even more of one that’s already doing great, here’s one thing you should try: survey your customers to get some insight about what’s working and what needs improving. Great sales questions enable you to tailor your messaging to your prospects' goals and show them your solution is the best choice. I found out that messaging on my course was completely wrong. You want to ask real customers, not engineers or sales people with a vested interest in your product. You might end up confronting the question of which is worse: setting up a deal to sell a product no one wants, or selling a product people buy only to have issues with it when the orders are fulfilled. In fact, "listened to me" and "understood my needs" are two of the top five factors most separating sales winners from second-place finishers. If you are launching a new product or service or if you want to review sales and marketing tactics for an existing product or service then here are twenty probing questions to ask. What did you dislike the most? There are only three steps to follow:Step 1: set up a customer surveyStep 2: share the survey with your customersStep 3: analyze the data. Customize these questions to suit your business and collect them in a survey, email, contest, question card, or plain old conversation to get answers. Again, avoid the word "why" here, so the potential customer doesn't feel put on the spot. Sales Questions to Ask Customers Needs Analysis Questions. These are problems that the customer has, whether they are real problems or just perceived ones. Don’t assume you know what your customers think about their experience. You use this question to find out what your customers do on a daily basis, what processes they follow, what tools they use—so you can understand where there is (or isn’t) space for your product/service. Are they writing a lot of content? Don’t, however, feel obligated to ask all of them every single time you talk to a customer; every conversation is different. By identifying and solving these pain points, you bring value to your customer and are able to make a sale. Stay up to date with the latest marketing, sales, and service tips and news. When you ask ‘what does your day look like?,’ what you’re really asking is: where does my product/service fit into your life? Louis was Senior Marketing Strategist at Hotjar until October 2020. As people started to take the course, she wanted to understand what exactly had led them to her—so she asked them. [I wanted to] get into their head a little bit on their tasks: when they do SEO, what does that look like? Focus on long-term relations 6. Ask too few questions and your prospect will view you as just paying lip service to them. "Sell me this pen" sample answers. Why is this question important? To alert them, trigger a pop-up message to appear on the thank you page. They don’t have a set pattern, meaning there is no formula or structure to them. Why is this question important? Customer feedback survey questions to ask when a product isn’t selling. They fear they may insult their contact if that person is outside the orbit of decision makers. What's going on here? You may be surprised by what you learn. Why is this question important? The questions you ask help you uncover buyer needs and desires, connect with them, and demonstrate your expertise. In my experience, people tend to wait until the end of a conversation or survey to really open up about an issue that’s been bugging them, or something they love about your company or product. This question will work especially well for your salespeople if they are trying to convince the customer to switch from their current vendor. It’s so tough, in fact, that there are some users who turn into a pillar of salt when confronted with the dreaded — “Create a Survey” button and have to choose “New Survey” to create a survey from scratch. Then, you can customize your sales presentations and pitches to their specific circumstances. And then I ask, "After taking this course, ____________" and let them fill in the blanks. The product SEEMS to work well for all these smiley people in your testimonials, but will I turn out to be the exception? So you really need to show them that you can do it. Having a solid arsenal of sales questions to ask customers in the back of your mind will always help you stay on track. Second, it helps you to identify their hot-button benefits, which allows you to fine-tune your pitch. 10 Essential Questions to Ask Before Launching Your Product Here are the top 10 fundamental questions that you and your product launch team must answer to assure a great new product lift-off! If you fail to ask tough questions about the good and bad of your product/service, you risk missing warning signs they're unhappy and would consider churning to a co mpetitor. They're strapped for time. Just to give me a sense of what areas might need a little more coverage. A lot of sellers do too muchtalking and presenting, then when they do ask the buyer questions, it’s always the same old “What keeps you up at night?” clichés. They usually involve Five W’s: Who, What, When, Where and Why; and also How (which some people call the Six Ws—even though How isn’t technically a W). It’s extremely powerful to understand what your customers had in mind—their fears, their concerns, their objections—after they went through the full experience, rather than trying to infer this information from random visitors on your website who might not fit your user persona or who might not have wanted to buy in the first place. Asking Open-Ended Questions Asking your prospect a series of open-ended questions during your presentation serves three important purposes. To provide value to these modern buyers, we need to ask good sales questions. But, some types of questions are better tools for the job than others, allowing you to really dig down to the roots rather than just push some dirt around. Is this product right for me? We’re talking things like job titles, responsibilities, level of expertise and knowledge, etc. @TonyAlessandra. Maybe they are afraid of wasting their money, or the order form was confusing, or the messaging rubbed them the wrong way—nevertheless, they made it through. Once you know a bit more about your customers, this question helps you put yourself more firmly in their shoes. They're hesitant to share information -- yet have endless access to product details online. By asking more open ended questions, you can be more confident that they’re giving you honest input. Your customers know better than anyone how useful your product is. 3. Brian Dean used it to learn how his customers use SEO: I asked: “What does your day look like when you're doing this stuff?” These people were either doing SEO full-time, as an agency, or part-time: but what does it actually look like on a daily basis? What do you dislike about your current vendor? Market research questions is a questionnaire that is answered by customers or potential consumers, to understand their perception and opinion on a given subject, typically pertaining to product or service feasibility, understanding consumer needs and interests, and pricing concepts. Are the products and services you provide in line with the opportunity and value your ideal customers are seeking from them? You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. Why is this question important? You may be tempted to interview people you know, such as friends or family. By carefully listening to what your prospects have to say - and offering insight and comments when appropriate - you can not only learn more about your prospects, but also build rapport. And yes: it might feel weird to contact people or even have a Skype/Hangout call with a complete stranger—but some loyal customers will even feel flattered that you want to hear from them. What challenges were you trying to solve? When your product is underperforming, turn to your customers to find out what you’re doing wrong and how you can improve. They were saying “When I bought your course, I already knew SEO. Free and premium plans, Sales CRM software. Written by Tony Alessandra I word it in a way that's very personal: “Before taking this course I struggled to________." Here is an interesting observation by Sales Hacker: when your likely customer talks for at least 30% of the time, Step 2: share the survey with your customers, Send it to your customers via email, making sure you explain concisely what you’re trying to achieve and why their help is important. See all integrations. Close it with these questions: Here are the most critical questions salespeople should ask their prospects. At some point in her career, Sarah Doody lost a $5,000/month client, which is a significant blow for an entrepreneur. Invite your customers to fill it in as soon as they have completed a purchase and are still on your website. Create a positive impression of your product 5. 15 Questions You Need to Ask on Your Next Customer Feedback Survey. In the aftermath, she decided to leverage her expertise by delivering paid training to UX designers, and her initial idea blossomed into a full-fledged course. What did you like most about the product? By asking customers to identify any point at which they had second thoughts, you’ll be able to uncover the fears and concerns that linger in the minds of other potential buyers. Few sales professionals ask this question because they fear offending the customer. 1. By asking yes or no questions specifically related to your product, customers may feel inclined to agree with you or not be critical. Go for it! You want your readers to have time to think about the product by asking them the previous questions first. 4. Asking this question gives your customers an opportunity to tell you what they think makes you special. Are they managing a team that’s doing all this stuff and they're being the conductor of the orchestra? Free and premium plans, Customer service software. What these customers were telling me, however, was that SEO is not hard, they were good at it, and they needed help to get to the next level. Setting up a few phone calls and going through each question in person is one of the best ways to go about it and develop real, in-person empathy for your customers. Here are the top ten risk-based questions some, or all, of which will run through your prospects’ minds when they consider your offer. Thorough answers will help you understand what works and doesn’t, so you can improve the experience for your customers; in turn, this knowledge will help you create promoters who will keep recommending your product/service to their friends and colleagues. 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