An easy way to better understand your customer
Many years ago, I stumbled onto a set of questions that are easy to ask, full of customer insights, and a gateway to asking more questions. As a good salesperson, we know we need to ask our customers or prospects a lot of questions. We need to gain a deep understanding of our customers before selling them a product. To do otherwise will end in an objection, no sale, and appear pushy to our customer.
However, on sales calls, we struggle to ask the high value questions to gain the understanding needed to sell. So, we stick to the easy questions like,
“Need anything today?…….What are you looking for in your agronomy program or nutrition program or Ag lender?” Etc.
While not terrible questions, they usually fall flat with a one-word reply from the customer. And you have to scramble another question to get the conversation moving.
As mentioned, many years ago, I stumbled onto this set of questions. I was calling on a new feed dealer who I just signed up. In our conversation, he kept telling me about all the bad sales representatives who had called on him over the years. With ease, he listed off a litany of incompetent salespeople from several different manufacturing companies that sold to him. While talking, I thought about how negative he was and wondered if he ever liked any of them.
So, I asked, “You’ve been running this feed business for over 20 years and seen a lot of good and bad sales reps. Who was the best rep that ever called on you?”
Without missing a beat, he responded with a name and a company. I didn’t even have to ask why that rep was so great. He went on and on about the rep, the company he sold for, and how he helped him grow his dealership sales.
An absolute wealth of insight as to how this customer determined value in their salesperson. It was a blueprint for how I would approach him and sell him. I couldn’t replicate everything that the previous rep did. But I now understood a lot more about how this customer made decisions and what he valued from a vendor.
Taking this to my next sales call, I was cold calling on another dealer prospect. Again, this prospect had been in the business for many years. Early in that sales call, we had discussed how long she had owned the dealership (over 25 years). The question rolled out so easily, “In all those 25-plus years, who was or is the best company you ever bought from?” She replied just as my customer did. She immediately mentioned a salesperson and a company name. Again, I quickly gained a wealth of information on how to sell to her. Different issues and needs from my previous dealer sales call, and the information helped me when I returned with a sales presentation.
I realized I was onto something as the questions seemed easy to ask and resulted in good discussions. The next day, I used them again when visiting a long-term solid customer. The dealership was owned by two partners who had been in the feed business for over forty years. I asked the “who was the best…” questions. However, their answers didn’t apply to today’s business practices. The mentioned a salesperson who took them on fishing trips and occasionally brought in some $500 type promotional items. As a company and an industry, we were not really offering incentive fishing trips or promotional incentives as we did in the 1970s and 80s.
Then it hit me, I need to bracket my new question and ask them, “Who was the worst salesperson or supplier you ever bought from?” Again, the question felt easy to ask. It didn’t feel like I was asking some self-serving sales question to get them to buy something. It just felt like I was truly interested to know, which I was. And again, the floodgates of information opened up, and a wealth of insight into their decision-making came out.
As I listened to their answers, I realized that I was currently doing some of those things that they didn’t like. They must have been providing me with some professional courtesy by not telling me over the years about any of these issues with me. However, it was easier for them to tell me their dislikes when talking about other salespeople. It gave me insight into a relationship that I thought was rock solid. It also showed me that just because a customer doesn’t complain, there is always a need to keep professionally selling to them. This especially applies to those customers who feel as close as family.
Other variations and considerations for the Best/Worst questions:
- Best/Worst product or service you ever sold?
- Best/Worst time in this business?
One last note on this question format. If you get a reply that their best company or salesperson was the cheapest or gave them the lowest prices or greatest discounts, you will feel disappointed. Mostly because you know you are not the cheapest. Don’t let it end there. That answer is usually not true. You might respond, “Nobody is always the cheapest. How did that rep have such good pricing versus their competition?” This may get you past the price objection and onto more meaningful information. If not, well, then you just learned a little more about what they value.
Try it today! Ask, “You know, we think we do a pretty good job of working with producers like yourself. However, you’ve been out here farming for more than thirty years and seen a lot of companies and sales reps like me. Who was the best that ever called on you?”
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