Studies have shown that prospects buy emotionally and then make decisions analytically.  One of the biggest motivations to buy is to solve a problem.  The consultative sales person needs to determine what the symptoms are, before offering a cure.  Just like any good Doctor!

Many of your prospects won't admit that they are in pain, either because they really aren't aware of what their pain is, can't clearly articulate what it is, or don't yet trust you enough with this information.  However, once they feel that you have heard them and that you understand the nature of the problem, chances are they will open up and begin to trust you.

Getting to this point is winning more than half the battle.  Rather than focusing on your features and on your benefits, why not focus on your prospect's problems?  If you can do a good job of understanding their pain then you have a good chance of providing the best solution, if indeed you have a solution!  It’s OK to tell your prospect that you sincerely believe your product and/or service is not a fit.  This is part of qualifying!

Ask questions to find out where the pain is.  This is an important step in the sales process and the quality of every question is critical. By knowing which questions to ask and employing active listening techniques, you can truly distinguish yourselves from traditional salespeople who focus on impressing their buyers with a feature, function, and benefit approach.

We use this section in the Sales Playbook to customize a set of questions that your salespeople should ask. We outline each question, why the question should be asked and what to do when you get the response you want.  We call this the CFS Prospecting Problem Matrix!