Asking Questions and Hearing Answers –
In the world of sales, questions serve as the scaffolding for a well-structured sales process. A skilled salesperson and travel advisor understands that every question asked should be a deliberate step towards a predefined destination in the conversation. By skillfully posing inquiries while allowing clients to do most of the talking, you can expertly steer the discourse toward your desired outcome.
There are three distinct categories of questions, each tailored to suit different scenarios.
Close-ended questions, designed to elicit concise responses like "Yes" or "No," are ideal for narrowing down possibilities and extracting specific information. They prove especially handy when dealing with overly verbose clients.
Open-ended questions, are conversation catalysts, encouraging customers to share their thoughts, opinions, and feelings. These questions, often commencing with "what," "how," or "why," invite clients to divulge their attitudes, preferences, and needs, effectively steering the conversation toward a more informative exchange.
Feedback questions, play a pivotal role in confirming the details that have surfaced during the discussion. They help ensure alignment between your understanding and the client's expectations, facilitating the process of closing the sale on various fronts.
However, effective questioning is an art that should never resemble an interrogation. Skilled interrogators seamlessly weave questions into the conversation, employ a mix of question types, mirror the client's language, frame questions to elicit positive responses, and restrain their own urge to dominate the dialogue, giving clients the space to express themselves freely.
Furthermore, while the primary purpose of asking questions is to hear the answers, research indicates that the average listener only comprehends around 25 percent of what's said.
Therefore, active listening becomes paramount. To truly grasp the significance of a conversation, it's crucial to eliminate distractions, avoid interruptions, take notes, maintain an open mind, employ verbal and nonverbal cues to convey attentiveness, decipher nonverbal signals like body language and inflections, recap key points, and always secure the client's contact information before concluding the conversation. These practices not only enhance your sales skills but also foster stronger client relationships, ultimately leading to greater success in the field of sales.
This content was taken directly from our Travel Career Development textbook, one of the three textbooks included in The Travel Introductory Program, the TRIPKit®. by The Travel Institute.