STRATEGIC QUESTIONING IN TRUST –BASED SELLING

NAME

PROFESSOR

INSTITUION

COURSE

DATE

Strategic questioning helps gather more detailed information about the buyer’s position, requirements and expectations thus improving buyers and sellers understanding about a particular problem and the possible solution. Strategic questioning involves questions meant for; Probing- these questions go beyond the obvious information to provide in-depth information. Evaluation questions-these are open-ended questions aimed at uncovering how a buyer of a product feels about it by expressing the buyer’s attitudes, tastes and preferences. Tactical-questions meant to divert the topic under debate in case of minimal interest of value in a certain discussion. Reactive responses-gives responses to information gathered earlier by the other participant and probing for more details of an earlier discussion.

Steps and purpose of ADAPT questioning sequence

Assessment questions-they elicit the real information about the buyer’s position. They address buyer’s targets, operations of their companies, markets changes and the buyer themselves.

Discovery questions-provide further details meant to fully understand buyer’s problems. They aim at discovering needs and levels of dissatisfaction by the salesperson.

Activation questions-helps the consumer evaluate all the possible impacts of their needs. Their interests are activated to help discover information which has remarkable impacts to the buyer’s organization.

Projection questions-helps the buyer switch on the benefits derived from the solution of the problems. This aims at creating a perceived value of creating a solution to a problem. (e) Transition questions-smoothen the change from the discovery of needs to the proposed solutions characteristic, merits and benefits to be derived.

REFERENCES

Cespedes, F. V. (1992), “Sales Coordination: An Exploratory Study,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 12 (summer), 13-29.

Ganesan, S. (1994), “Determinants of Long-Term Orientation in Buyer-Seller Relationships,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (April), 1-19.