Business Briefs: 5 Essential Questions

The No.?1 rule of making your business succeed is: You must know how to sell your product or service. Here are five questions you should ask in every selling situation:

1. "Tell me about your challenges with regards to…" This immediately shows your goal is to focus exclusively on the prospect and not on yourself.

2. "Give me an example of this challenge." This question takes a challenge from theoretical to personal. 

3. "Ballpark how much this challenge costs you." This could be something non-monentary such as, "Our outdated floors mean I'm too embarrassed to have dinner parties."

4. "What would it mean if you could solve this challenge?" This allows the prospect to articulate your value. 

5. "Big picture, what are you looking to accomplish?" Salespeople often have no clue as to why their prospects would even want to buy from them. This question is the ultimate paintbrush in the hand of your prospect.