with permission of Patrick Tinney, Managing Partner, centroidmarketing.com, the Author of the new business book “Unlocking Yes: Sales Negotiation Lessons & Strategy”

“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, require creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”

- Albert Einstein

A leading question is a question so worded as to suggest the proper or desired answer.  If you’ve watched a crime or courtroom movie scene you would have heard a million leading questions and some of these questions are so rhetorical that we almost groan when we hear them.  A leading questions example would be “would you agree Mrs. Defendant that your nose has two nostrils?” Or… “Would you say Mr. Witness that ears are generally used for listening?”  Groan!

As a young sales professional growing up in the newspaper business I was surrounded and trained by some of the smartest sales people in the business skilled at asking leading questions.  Many of these sales thought leaders knew that if they didn’t get the customer moving in the right direction in a sales negotiation the whole discussion could derail and they would not get a deal done and collect their sales commission.

Learning from these quizzical greats was infectious and fun.  It was also deadly serious.  We all knew that if we could not draw the customer into our zone of potential agreement (ZOPA) with great questions our quarterly bonuses could be in question. 

So why are leading questions so important?  The answer is simple.  We use leading questions in sales negotiations to create much needed constructive momentum.  This is especially true in large dollar volume negotiations.  Leading questions allow us to create a channel of positive responses or ‘yes’s” from the customer.  In a sales negotiation, it is important to get the customer used to saying yes so when the critical closing portion of a sales negotiation comes front and center the word yes is not foreign or awkward.  The customer has said the word yes so many times to leading questions that “yes” is just a continuation of a conversation rather than a lightning point.

One of the best ways to start leading questions in a sales negotiation is to talk about the relationship, history, past success or common objectives that a customer and sales person have or will both benefit from.  Here is a solid list of sales negotiation leading questions:

• Isn’t it great that our two companies have such a long and constructive history?
•  Would you agree that our last negotiation was right on point?
•  Do you believe that working collaboratively on this deal will bring us both to a win/win agreement?
•  Could we say that our relationship has always been the basis for our on-going ability to close solid contracts?

The neat thing about all of the above questions is that on the surface they are innocuous. The questions are meant to put the customer at ease while paving the way to meatier questions further down steam in the negotiation.  These non-threatening questions while leading to effortless “yes’s” on the customer’s part also confirm that there are no underlying problems with the customer’s perception of our on-dealings and performance. 

If you want to put a little more edge on a leading question to a customer you might go with the following.  “You don’t want to miss budget do you?”  This leading question will really perk your customer up!

If for any reason the customer responds counter-intuitively to any of the above questions it is time to slow the negotiation down and ask deeper amour piercing questions to address any concerns the customer has about the negotiation.  This is a critical point because if the customer wants to air some objections or complaints, this is the time to catch them and listen to them closely.  Remember, no matter how small the issue or objection the customer has, we must take the time to hear them out.   As intelligent business people we all want to be heard and reassured that the decisions we are about to make are the smartest and best available.

So get working on your leading questions! And, here’s to guiding your sales negotiations to wise and profitable closure!  “It’s fun to sign large deals….wouldn’t you say?” 

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”- Voltaire

For more information or to comment, please contact patrick@centroidmarketing.com

centroidmarketing.com

Twitter @ Centroideals

Copyright Centroid Marketing 2015 

Bus. 705- 657-2518   Cell. 416-617-3271

A view of the story writer is liked for the narrated tips for the field. The total aspiration of the terms and customessaysreviews.com/essaytigers-com-review/ are improved for future times. The struggle is amalgamated in the mid of the offers. The happiness of the mains seen here. the struggle is improved for the role of the sciences. The manner is defined for the opening of the joy for humans.

Thanks for such wonderful blog that looks pretty different, I would suggest you please make a proper plan for your blog and start professional blogging as a career, One day you would be smart enough to earn some money, wishing you a best of luck my friend, do my assignment for me Thanks a lot for your nice support and love.

Thanks for sharing with us. I just loved your way of presentation. I enjoyed reading this .Thanks for sharing and keep writing. It is good to read blogs like this. As constantly, Suicide Squad Women Jacket we appreciate yourself assurance and accept as true within us.

This article is really contains lot more information about This Topic. We have read your all the information some points are also good and some usually are awesome. write my paper for me Great post I would like to thank you for the efforts you have ma

Thanks for sharing with us. I just loved your way of presentation. I enjoyed reading this .Thanks for sharing and keep writing. It is good to read blogs like this. As constantly, Buy Suicide Squad Jacket Online we appreciate yourself assurance and accept as true within us.

I clearly stumbled upon your weblog and favored to mention that I’ve truely loved reading your blog posts. anyhow I’ll be subscribing in your feed and that i wish you submit write me an essay once more quickly. Please keeps it top posting! thanks you a lot, I recognize your work.

I thought I would leave my first comment. I do not know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Cafe Racer Biker Jacket Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.I'll use this information for my work.

A view of the story writer is liked for the narrated tips for the field. The total aspiration of the terms and are improved for future times. The struggle is amalgamated in the mid of the offers. The happiness of the mains seen here. the struggle is improved for the role of the sciences. The manner is defined for the opening of the joy for humans.

Thanks for sharing with us. I just loved your way of presentation. I enjoyed reading this .Thanks for sharing and keep writing. It is good to read blogs like this. As constantly, Buy Cafe Racer Jacket Online we appreciate yourself assurance and accept as true within us.