You’re Getting Warmer

Sales is one big game of 20 Questions

Ever play that kids game of “Hotter-Colder”? Before video games, my friend Kevin and I were so bored, we played a game called Hotter-Colder. Kevin would cover his eyes, while I hid a toy in the room somewhere. Then, Kevin would walk around the room searching for the hidden toy. I would announce “Hotter” as he moved closer to the hidden toy or “Colder” as he moved away from the toy. Sometimes, just to mess with Kevin, (because he deserved it), I would announce Colder even though he moved closer. Finally, Kevin would find the toy and we would reverse roles. What a great game!

After two rounds of this, we would then switch to a game called 20 Questions. Another cure for boredom prior to Donkey Kong. In this game, Kevin would think of something. I would then have 20 questions to guess what it is. After 20 questions, if I hadn’t guessed it, Kevin won. Rarely did he win. But when he did, I was convinced he changed the object he was thinking of. Another great game! Thank goodness, Space Invaders came along and cured our boredom.

What does this have to do with being a professional salesperson? Everything. Doesn’t matter if you are selling a one-time sale like a compact utility tractor or selling in a long-term relationship like animal nutrition and agronomy. You enter into the sales call and your customer has something they want. They don’t always tell you nor do they always know exactly what they want. And as Kevin did when he wanted to win, customers change their mind!

Let’s start with the first process of 20 Questions. Imagine trying to win that game by just naming individual items. For example, imagine me starting out the game by asking Kevin, “Is it Spot the dog from our school books?” “Is it a swing set?” and on I could go until I hit the 20 Questions limit. That is exactly what it’s like when I ride along with some salespeople. They go on the sales call and want to show the customer a product. They do a great job of presenting on a new fungicide or a new way to balance amino acids for pigs. They never ask a question to determine a need. They just take a shot in the dark and hope this customer needs this product.

I was guilty of this in the worst way at one of my first public presentations. It was February and we had just launched a new mare & foal feed. This was the prime time of the year for horse owners to be interested in how to feed their pregnant mare or their newborn foal. As I got up in front of the twenty people gathered that night at my dealer’s evening event, I was brimming with excitement as I went on and on for over 45 minutes about our new mare/foal feed. It was amino acid balanced. It was energy balanced and good for any pregnant mare or young foal. Seeing the audience’s eyes starting to droop at the 45-minute mark, I polled the audience. “How many of you have a pregnant mare at home?” I asked. Zero hands went up. “How many of you have a young foal at home?” I desperately asked. You guessed it. Zero hands went up. I should have stood up, said my name & company and asked those two questions. Then, told them we had a mare & foal feed if they ever had a need and thanked them for coming out. Then, let them get to the free pot of chili in the back of the room that was smelling really good at this point of the night. A simple kids game of 20 Questions would have saved me the time and embarrassment of presenting on a product that absolutely no one in the room needed. In addition, after the meeting, my dealer questioned the two pallets of mare & foal feed he purchased.

Lesson learned the hard way: Ask a few questions before you assume they need your latest and greatest product. I know it’s a great PowerPoint presentation put together by your marketing department. I know they told you the statistic that every customer in your market would be foolish not to buy this product. However, take a few minutes anyway and ask a few questions to establish the need.

Now for the Hotter-Colder game. How do we incorporate this game into our selling process? Again, it doesn’t matter if you are selling the most technical of products in a three-piece suit or you’re selling a 20-year-old refrigerator at a garage sale. You need to determine if you’re on the right path as you work through the selling process.

Hotter-Colder is the kid’s version of checking in. Often, our sales presentations are lengthy. Take a look at the number of PowerPoint slides and compare it to the amount of time you have for the sales call. I’ve gone into an hour appointment with an 80-slide presentation. That’s less than a minute per slide, not counting the small talk at the beginning or the Closing questions. Take your slide presentation and add several Check-ins. This is where you Check-in with the customer to see if the presentation makes sense, if they understand it and would the product add value to their operation. A Check-In is an adult version of Hotter-Colder. You’re asking your customer, “Am I getting hotter or colder?” Based on the answer, you either continue or you back up and change directions. If you are a natural at this, Great! If not, insert a new slide into the presentation that says,

Is this something you would find helpful to your operation?
Would this work for your farm?
How would this help your agronomy business?
What would happen if you used this product on your animals?
Have you ever thought of using this type of product on your crops?

These are all versions of Hotter-Colder. They are also open-probe questions that get your customer talking.

But wait, you’re not done. There’s more to do. Your next most important step is to listen to your customer’s answers. Just like Kevin, he might change his answers. It might be intentional to throw you off or protect his privacy. Or maybe by answering your questions, your customer realizes they have other needs, which is the good part about questions. Asking high-value questions is also one way you bring value to a customer. It can bring out a change in his way of thinking.

When this change occurs, you get to start over again with 20 Questions and Checking-In with a game of Hotter-Colder. Take it from me and Kevin. No more boring PowerPoint presentations on topics your customer has no interest in. No more shots in the dark as to what your prospect might need. Start your professional selling process off with a couple kid’s games. Trust me, your customer will stay much more engaged.