The Most Important Question You Can Ask Your Customer! - - tim mcmahon

Salespeople ask their customers a lot of questions. Is there one question that a "value seller" should always ask?

Try this one out: "Mr/Ms Customer, of all the vendors and suppliers you work with (not just my product), who is your favorite or the one whose relationship you most value? What is it that they do that makes them so valuable?"

Okay, technically that's two questions, but you get the idea. If I want to become a most valuable supplier to my customer I need to find out how to do that. Chances are your customer has plenty of experience with vendors and knows what they like and what they don't. By asking the "value question" this way you'll get an honest answer from your customer that won't feel like a customer demand or part of the sale negotiation.

Most importantly, it's a positive, customer-centric selling approach. And then you can work on becoming your customer's new favorite supplier!