Find A Customer Need And Fill It
“Asking the appropriate questions means understanding exactly what your customer is trying to achieve”
Murray, C. (2016)
As salespeople, we constantly hear, find a customer need and fill it. But how do we find a customer need? In a simple answer by questioning and listening, find the gap between what the customer has and wants. According to Wilson Learning and Carew, the discovery agreement is essential for the sales process. It summarizes the gap you have discovered and agreed with our customer or prospect.
According to Carew, the “F” is your GAP finding tool. The area between the two lines represents the GAP between our solution and the customer’s needs. To find the gap, several types of questions are needed. They can be summarized in two major groups; 1) Fact-finding and 2) Feeling finding questions.
- Fact-finding questions are questions that describe the now, what the customer has. They focus on history and background, problems and causes, impact and consequences, level of satisfaction of current supplier, buying roles and conditions, and decision-makers
- Feeling finding questions are questions to try to find the desire and aspirations of our customers or prospects. They focus on desired changes, improvement areas, desired advantages, desired gains, desired level of satisfaction and personal and task motives
As the name says, there are other types of questions, such as permission, that ask permission to ask questions and reassure our customers or the prospect of our positive intent. Best/least are questions to uncover potential opportunities. Magic wand encourages our customers and prospects to dream. And tell me more questions encourage the prospect, customer or buyer, to provide more detail.
Closing Remarks
When preparing a discovery or sales call, remember to pair your Fact-Finding questions with Feeling-Finding questions in a 2:1 or a 1:1 ratio to find the customer need and fill it.
DISCLAIMER. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author, and they are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organisation, company, individual or anyone or anything.