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The importance of sales to a business cannot be overemphasized; businesses thrive on cash flow. Almost every part of business operations requires capital which is why a good cash flow is important to the health and survival of any business.

This is the reason why companies hire sales people and marketers to focus on how to sell and bring in revenue for the company to keep in business. As a small scale business or a start-up, chances are that you uptake your sales process yourself which is why you must be good at getting sales conversions.

Let’s say you have done your advertising and have generated traffic  to your business, or people have found you and are in a negotiation with you over doing business with you, the how to convert such enquiries or discussions to sales is a very important skill every marketer or entrepreneur must possess.

This article cannot cover all that is involved on the issue of sales conversions which is why it will just focus on a few questions you should NEVER ask your client when trying to sell to them.  

Closing sales is nothing more than asking the RIGHT PERSON the RIGHT QUESTIONS at the RIGHT TIME. But more often than not the right question is the most important of these 3 elements because even the right prospect can be lost if you ask the wrong questions. Also, very good marketers or sales people can market to a wrong person with the right questions or skills. Have you never bought a product you didn’t need simply because the seller or marketer did a good job at getting you to buy? Anyway, I have been swept off my feet by some astute marketers sometimes and I ended up buying from them even when I didn’t need the item at the time or may never. Lastly, even when you approach a client at the wrong time, even the right questions might still get you an audience and ultimately your sales conversion.

So, here are just 5 out of the many silly questions not to ask as a sales person.

As an upfront, these questions are questions that sound so polite, and as a person trying to sell, you would likely have used them at one time or possibly still do.

1.     How can I help you?

This question seems so harmless because all you are trying to do is to offer assistance, but psychologically your prospect understands where the discussion is headed. Naturally, even though your prospect has an intention to buy, but this question triggers a defense. The response would likely be, ‘I don’t need any help, I am not buying’. Don’t ask this question at all. A better question will be to ask your client what they need. Often, than not, your prospects know what their need or want is even though they may not always know which is the best product to go for but they know and want to talk about what they think their need is.

2.    Do you have a minute?

Quick question… Can you actually make that sale in a minute? I honestly don’t think so. So why ask for a minute when you will end up taking more several minutes or hours? You come off already to your client as dishonest and lacking integrity. The very ‘hard to break ones’ will actually time you and cut you off when it’s exactly the amount of time you asked for. Better to say, is it a good time to call? Let your client have a feeling you value their opinion and let them tell you how much time they have to spare, while you go ahead and make a sales pitch that makes them listen to you and give you all the attention you need to make that sale.

3.   How could you not want this deal?

Like seriously!

That’s pushing too hard. Let your clients come to their own conclusions about your offer; you just ensure you are convincing enough to help them see how good your offer is. Customers want to buy, but they don’t like to be sold to, so understand what your clients’ needs really are and help them see how your product/service meets that need.

4.   Would you like some time to think about it?

So, what really were you expecting them to say? 99 out of 100, your client will say yes, and 99.9 out of 100 clients will never come back to the discussion which will make you start doing a hard chase. As honest as the question sounds, it hands over the power to your client. Do all you can to close the deal there and then-Now!

5.     Are you looking to buy today?

Guess what my answer will be? You guessed right; even if you ask me a million times, it’s a No! At that stage of your conversation, why not ask, where do we go from here?

Now, there are likely hundreds of wrong questions sales people ask when trying to make a sale, so these are just a few, maybe the very common ones. You sure want to avoid using these questions when trying to make a sale; they kill your chances of getting a conversion.