TSOS Tip #4 Consultative Dialogue Questions FINAL

By Paul Petersen

Question	Objective	Stage	Prob
What prompted your interest in our products/services? Where did you learn of us?Who has asked you to look?	Understand the prospect’s initial motivation	Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)	20%
What are you trying to accomplish?Why is this important?When is due date?What do you see as the biggest challenge?	Understand the business driver(s)		40%
What is it worth?Can you quantify it?Who will benefit the Most?What is the cost of delay?How will you measure success?Why now?	Tease out the valueEstablish monetary value to the objectives	Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
Who is on the project team?	Identify influencers	Engagement
If a phased approach is used, what would full deployment look like?Is there any benefit to implementing sooner?What would have to “go-right”?What can we do together to insure the long-term success?	Establishing the Single Sales Opportunity
Based on the value of this project, what needs to be done to complete an evaluation of alternatives and what is the date that we should be working towards for the full deployment?Is there any date that makes sense for organizational reasons, e.g., busy periodWhat steps if any have been started/completed?What remains to be done?What is the cost of delay?	Understand all the steps required for the evaluation and set a data.Work backwards to establish a go/no-go date on starting. Is there enough time?Lock down date
Is there anything else?Can we prioritize?	Probe to get a list of issues/concerns
How Will this project be funded?Have you budgeted this? If YES, how did they determine the budget and what assumptions were used –If NO, what is your company’s requirement for approval?Has your company made similar purchases?	Understand the ROIGoal is to get to an apples-to-apples comparison   If not, suggest requirements.
Are you considering other options?How do you rate their and our strengths and weaknesses?	Understand the alternatives including competitors and internal
What is the process you will use to evaluate and select amongst alternative options?What criteria will be the most important in your decision process?Who else will be involved in evaluating?What will need to be done to get this accomplished?	Understand the buyer’s process.
What do you require/desire in selecting a company like ours as a partner?	Share your client success stories	Sell the Company
“In the time we have together today, what would you like to accomplish?” (Peter Block)What will be the next step?What might you need to move to the next step?	Manage your time to make sure nothing gets missed
“When we develop a mutual understanding of your needs and our capabilities we will present a DRAFT proposal for your review:when should we aim to do this?”	Soliciting prospect help in editing proposed components“Prepping the witness” to present to Upper “invisible” approversDo you have agreement on the need and solution?	Trial close	60% 65%
“Does this proposal represent a solution that meets your needs?” (Mahan Khalsa)If not, what would we have to add or change?	Get confirmationHave prospect state it aloud – it’s critical in making this theirsNegotiate changes	Closing	80%
“If we can come to agreement on the terms of our proposal today, can you think of any reason why we shouldn’t move forward with our proposed solution?” (Ron Holm Track Selling Institute)	It’s closing time.	Act of commitment	90%
Once we have completed this project to your satisfaction, would you be willing to share your experience with us as a reference or case study?	You remind the prospect that you have something at stake.	Cement the sale	100%

Additional Notes on the Dialogue

• The questions are listed in order of preferred use – but can occur randomly in the wild.  `
• You should strive to get answers for all questions and as soon as possible.
• Try to capture the notes in CRM for you and others to see what has been collected.
  • avoid others in your company from asking the same questions multiple times. I call it “death of a thousand qualifying. “
• It is not a script: add, modify word choice etc. as seems appropriate. Delivery should be natural and bi directional.
• The objective is to “explore” the info on the opportunity and through one or more sessions build rapport, deepen the relationship.:
• the first question gets them talking – maybe the most important part.
• Explore this inquiry and what motivated them to consider change – start your dialogue…and like Topper, the prospect goes first. 😊