To close the sale, you need to understand your prospect’s situation. To gain understanding, you need to ask the right questions.

Good questions not only provide information, they also create a stronger buyer/seller bond, give you an edge over the competition and give the buyer a higher comfort level. When you understand the customer’s need, you serve those needs better.

In a recent study conducted by The Sales Development Institute in Upper Darby, PA, of 300 salespeople surveyed, 87 percent understood the value of asking questions on a sales call but only 27 percent demonstrated an ability to ask a well thought out, stimulating series of questions. To ask questions that get information, create motivation and add the stimulation needed to solve problems, here are some guidelines to follow.

A good question leads the call in the direction you want it to go. Good questions require more than a “yes” or “no” answer; they require thought and commitment on the part of the buyer. Before developing your question strategy, ask yourself: Are your questions clear and concise? Do they lead the client to draw from past experiences? Do they generate a response that the prospect has not thought about before? Do they relate directly to the prospect’s current business situation? Last, do they relate to the customer’s objectives?

To be sure your questions accomplish all these aims, use this question blueprint: Begin with a factual statement, follow with an observation and conclude with a focused, probing question. Here’s an example:

“Mr. Baldwin, your company form molds metal carrying cases using the XYZ process developed and patented by United Mold Corporation in the early ’70s. That’s a good system and widely used in your industry. I see your production is about 22.7 units per hour. How does that per hour rate stack up in today’s more competitive climate?”

Mr. Baldwin has to answer something. He has to think about his business versus the competition. He has to do some quick figuring and he has to be thinking about the possibility that you’re going to offer him a better way to mold metal. Without ever selling Mr. Baldwin on the benefits of your product, you are already leading him in that direction and letting him come to his own conclusions. By using the question blueprint, salespeople can use questions to gain a strategic advantage on any sale.

Here’s a different example. “The printing business has certainly gotten more technological than it was even three years ago, Ms. Tate. I notice you haven’t yet installed one of the on-line pre-press composition machines that have revolutionized creating color on the printed page. How many new accounts would you estimate you could attract if you offered this new service to your customers?” There’s the blueprint: factual statement, observation, and focused, probing question. It will serve you well and get your sale rolling toward more closes more often.