If you could have three wishes right now, what would you wish? Think about it. A question like that would make the most closed-off person open up. Like most good questions, it’s irresistible.

The main reason questions are so effective is that most people are compelled to answer them. Questions stimulate the mind and offer people an opportunity to use brain constructively. How else can you explain the continued popularity of question-and-answer quiz shows on radio, television and in recent years, the internet?

People act for their own reasons and in their own way

When you ask prospects for thoughts and opinions, you give them an opportunity to talk. Most people prefer talking to listening, and when prospect’s talk, they provide valuable cues to their motivation.

Understanding motivation is how you learn what is important to a prospect and what may limit their ability to purchase. Without this knowledge you might as well be flying a big 747 with all the windows blacked out. You know you’re flying, but you don’t know where. Fully understanding a prospect’s motivations and limitations helps you fly with a clear vision of your destination.

To set you on the right course you know there are certain facts about customers you must discover and understand, yet you can’t ask everything at once. Therefore, the first thing you must understand is motivation – the reason for acting. When you
understand motivation you begin to sell the way people prefer to buy.

Understand visit motivation
Earlier in my career I was involved in researching customer attitudes. One research study involved several thousand potential buyers. Each was asked a series of questions concerning their home buying experience. I learned that 51% of respondents
arrive at a model home community by accident. These people admitted to simply being curious. They wanted to look but were not considering a purchase. The other 49% stated the visit was planned. In fact, 25% of this group had a newspaper with them that had at least three communities circled.

The difference between prospects being curious and serious – now that’s an important distinction! Some people have no intention of buying now. To succeed today you must separate the serious from the curious. It’s my experience that the following question does exactly that, simply ask:

Is this something you are considering doing now?

No matter how the question is answered you gain insight into the level of prospect interest. The fact is not everyone who visits a model home is serious; begin now to understand a prospect’s visit motivation. When you do, everyone wins. People who are serious get undivided attention and those that are curious get a chance to look, which is what they wanted to do in the first place.

Understand buying motivation
In Stephen Covey’s best seller 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he provides salespeople valuable advice. He tells his readers to ‘Seek first to understand to be understood.’ Those seven words, if taken to heart, can mean the difference between success and failure. When you understand what types of things are motivating someone, you earn the right to influence.

In order for a prospect to make a purchase decision you must gain agreement in
six key decision-making categories. They are:

• Home
• Homesite
• Community
• Location
• Financing
• Builder

The questions you ask should focus on these six key categories. The responses represent a prospect’s decision-making criteria. When you’re able to satisfy a customer’s criteria you are satisfying buying motivation. The question to ask is simple, here it is:

For you what is important about the home?

This question focuses a prospect on thinking about what is important. It puts your prospect on notice that your sales presentation will focus on needs. Believe me – focusing on needs are the ingredients for a successful sales presentation.

There is another reason this question is so effective and that is its versatility. To learn about the rest of a prospect’s buying criteria all you have to do is exchange the word ‘home’ with homesite, community, location, financing or builder. The responses
you get from each question provide you with more and more buying criteria.

Clearly understanding your prospect’s buying criteria helps you develop a more targeted sales presentation. You’re not wasting a prospect’s time or valuable selling time. So, take time now to master all six questions. Prospects will appreciate your professionalism and you will appreciate the additional income.

You will be successful
Most experts agree that asking questions is the cornerstone of any successful salesperson. This article provides you with a better way to discover important information about your prospects, including those that might limit their ability to purchase. These questions require study and practice. That’s a choice you’ll have to make. If you are willing to take the time to learn these questions, you will be successful.

—
© 2008 Bob Hafer, Robert E. Hafer & Associates LLC
View Bob’s profile
www.bobhafer.com