The Art of Managing Communication in Sales

The salesperson asks the questions. This sentence should be this clear and stand-alone. It is a rule. The one who asks the questions initiates the conversation and creates energy. But do you know what is really important and should be focused on? The one who asks the questions manages the communication.

Who Manages the Communication in Sales?

In sales, we may be meeting with our customers on the phone, online or face to face. The same rule applies for me in all my meetings. Asking questions is the most powerful tool that directs the sales process. I have previously mentioned the importance of this subject in my article “A Sales Professional Tactic: The Professional Friend”. In this article, we will discuss the subject in more detail.

A Real Experience

I want to start with an example. In one of my last consulting jobs, we were doing real estate and investment consulting abroad. We were presenting real estate and investment options to customers and guiding them to the investment option that made the most sense for them. I referred one of my former colleagues to this company. After he started working and attended his first sales meeting, he came to me and said in surprise: “Nil, these guys do not sell, they just tell.” It was such a funny moment for me that I am laughing even as I write these lines. Let me explain why, the employees and founders of the company I am talking about have not reached any field of expertise and are people who saw the opportunity and somehow got involved in this business. Do they know how to sell? Absolutely not. But if people know they need your product, you sell it somehow.

Let's go a little deeper to explain this better. There is a concept in sales that we call "One Call Sale". In other words, sales made to customers who are ready to buy and make a decision in a single meeting. Now, let me explain why I am still laughing as I write these lines. This company had realized the "One Call Sale" situation that every salesperson encounters at least once a month in the nature of sales and considered it a great success. However, real sales requires strategy, it is necessary to guide and persuade, not just explaining the product.

Is Just Introducing the Product Enough?

A salesperson has a lot to say about their product. Especially if they believe in their product, they want to talk non-stop. However, when the customer is not guided according to their needs and desires, the decision-making process is delayed or completely terminated.

This was also the case in the company I mentioned. Employees were explaining the product but not asking questions. Therefore, they could not manage sales conversations and their success rates were low. If they had managed the process by asking strategic questions from the very beginning, they could have tripled their success rates (I made a detailed calculation of this).

What Do Salespeople Who Make a Difference Do?

Salespeople who make a difference:

• They ask the questions themselves, not the customer.

• They don't explain the product, they reveal the customer's needs.

• They create an atmosphere of buying, not selling.

Thus, the customer does not feel that they are being sold to, they believe that their own needs are being met, and this is really true. Salespeople who make a difference meet their customers' needs by offering solutions to their problems.

So, How Do We Implement It?

When professional salespeople start selling a new product, they first create question sets. These questions are prepared to understand the customer's needs and motivations. However, this is not for choosing a random question during the interview, but to develop creativity in asking questions and questions that indirectly lead us to the answer we are looking for. For example, instead of asking "Ms./Mr. X, what are your needs?", directly asking "I am here to best understand your needs and expectations and offer the most appropriate solution. How would you describe the solution you are looking for?"

However, there is another point to consider here. We created our questions and started to ask them in our meetings. We asked questions, bam bam bam. So what happened? The customer said, "I'll get back to you" and never answered our phone calls or emails again. At this point, it is important to remember that the sale must proceed in harmony.

Harmony is a Must in Sales

"Happiness is when what you think, say and do is in harmony."

― Mahatma Gandhi

• A good salesperson manages communication in harmony.

• Asks questions in a certain rhythm.

• Helps the customer discover their needs.

• Turns the meeting into a mutual interaction.

• Remembers the details and values ​​their customer.

Does not lose their energy during this process and maintains their happiness. Of course, success and bonuses also lie beneath this happiness! However, harmony is the biggest key.

The salesperson asks the questions. And salespeople are the ones who manage the communication.