In this week’s blog I talk about asking the right questions and discovering that one extra question can unravel hidden opportunity and revenue.
Many salespeople, after making a call to a client, figure out the problem and then offer a solution.
The old budget questions
Next up, they will try to ascertain the client’s budget.
The question might look something like this:
“Do you have a budget in mind for this service/product?”
“Yes, I do,” says the client, and then they throw a number out there, probably guessing.
Here is a tip that gave one sales coach the chance to increase his client’s budget by 100%.
Simply ask – UP TO?
I learnt this tip years ago from Tom Hopkins, a great sales coach.
He maintained – and I can vouch for his wisdom – that if you ask those two words, nine times out of ten you will find that the number of the budget you are given by a client will increase.
Tom’s story
His story verifies that.
Tom was working with a client and it got down to budgets. He was searching for what the client could afford.
His client, when asked the question “What is your budget?”, replied with “$1,000 Tom”.
Tom then asked these two words…
UP TO?
The client went on to say, “Up to $2,000”.
Now, there was an immediate $1,000 gap that Tom could work with.
It works, try it.
So next time when you ask for a budget, maybe these 2 words could be useful.
Mike (UPTO) Brunel
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Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
He made a lot of mistakes when it came to hiring his superstars. Check out his How to Hire A Super Salesperson Each and Every time – It’s packed with tips and ideas on how to hire great salespeople. Don’t ever Hire Bad Salespeople Ever Again. Promise!