Idea of the Week - Total Selling Systems

Warren Wechsler's
Idea of the Week

Obligating Questions

Warren Wechsler, bestselling author and national sales and motivational speaker, provides many valuable resources free of charge to sales trainers and sales managers. Some restrictions apply to the use and distribution of this information. For more valuable materials, visit Warren's web site www.totalselling.com. All materials and content © Warren Wechsler, 2001 – All rights reserved.

The best way to learn how to ask obligating questions is to think about the phrase "what's next?" Those of you that go along and follow with our program in this part of the segment, take out your pens and just write down the words "what's next?"

Why is that so important, you might ask? Well the reason it's so important is that when you are at any part of the sales process - whether you're talking to somebody for the first time, or you're trying to figure out how the company makes decisions, or you're trying to get an appointment with that person, or you're trying to ask the right questions and make sure you're getting the right answers, or you're presenting a solution, or what have you - your job as a salesperson is to move the prospect or the client to the next level of the sales process or the sales pyramid.

If you're thinking in your mind "what's next; where do we go from here?" then the obligating question will become evident. Let's say I'm talking to a prospect, and I am on the phone with them, and I've established who the decision maker is, my next step, my "what's next" is: get the appointment. So an obligating question would be, "I'm going to be working in your area next week. How about Wednesday morning, or if that doesn't work, what about Thursday afternoon?" You've just asked an obligating question using what's called alternative choice. Now we know that asking "what's next" in our mind then brought out the question. "I'd like to get together with you. What about next week, Wednesday or Thursday?"

Another way to use the "what's next" phrase or the "what's next" technique is at the end of the sales process. You've demonstrated all your features and benefits; you've offered the right solution for the potential client. Now what's next in your mind is, "I want to find out if this person is going to buy from me or not." And what that demands of you then is to ask the obligating question. What's next is where do we go from here? Have we agreed that these features and benefits meet your needs? Can you move into this space? Would you like to buy this particular automobile? Does this watch fit your image? Would this diamond impress your fiancée? These are all examples of obligating questions that are all created by that simple understanding of "what's next?" If you practice "what's next?" you will then learn how to become a more effective obligating question asker. And once you do that you'll see your sales skyrocket.

So the Sales Idea of the Week is figure out what's next, and then learn how to ask "what's next?" questions.

This was a partial transcript from Warren Wechsler's weekly radio show. Warren Wechsler, bestselling author and national sales and motivational speaker, provides many valuable resources free of charge to sales trainers and sales managers. Visit Warren's web site www.totalselling.com Also, listen to Warren's weekly radio broadcast Wednesday's at 4:05 - 5:00 pm Central time, on KMCD-AM 1570AM. Shows are broadcast live on the internet at http://www.warpradio.com/asx/KMCD-AM.asx