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Clarify the need by Asking Questions
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The other way to gain relevant information is to ask questions. There are two types of questions:
Open-ended Question
Open-ended Questions are questions which encourage information, and which cannot be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Open questions begin with:
What Why
Who How
Which Where
E.g., “What sort of problems are you having with your roses?”
Closed Questions
Closed Questions ask for specific information and can be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Closed questions may begin with:
Can I Did You
Do You Would You
Could You Will It
E.g., “Have you tried this product before?”
Open-ended questions can be used to gather general information and closed questions can be used to gain specific information.
Listen to the customer’s initial statement of need, or question, and then use the open and closed technique to establish the exact need and all other relevant information.
However, to gain the customer’s commitment to you, and to encourage them to do business with you, you must take control of the conversation.