Early in my sales career I remember being taught directional questioning, and leaving the course feeling like it wasn’t that hard, but confused and unable to effectively apply it in my day-to-day meetings with clients. Then I remember taking directional questioning again, still confused. Once again, I took it, and for a third time, confused. Ultimately, in directional questioning, there are four directions you can go with your questions, how could it be so difficult?
Then, several years later as a Solution Engineer, I was thrown into a situation where I needed to enable our sales team on directional questioning. Given my confusion, I decided to simplify the concept to the person who was clearly the lowest common denominator in the room: Me.
So let’s quickly break it down. Like a compass with South, North, West and East, there’s four main directions you can go with your questions: Down, Up, Right, and Left.
Here’s your simple map:
DOWN = TACTICAL (What specifically…?)
If we’re going “down,” then we’re getting into the dirty details. In most instances, we’re going to ask open-ended questions that start with “What specifically…” In a previous blog post, Scott Winterton talked about the importance of preparing for discovery with a customer. Understanding that some people (often someone responsible for demonstrating your solution) are going to be really focused on the specifics of what’s happening (or not happening with a solution) what's being measured, etc., we can get mired in the details of our demo. If you’re selling in a team, make sure someone is responsible for bringing the conversation back "up." Details are great, and may lead to great demos, but those details (and your great demo) will rarely help you win the heart of the economic buyer(s) if you’re not tying back to their strategic objectives…
UP = STRATEGIC (Let’s understand impact!)
Which brings us to our “up” questions. When we’re asking our up questions, we’re searching for how this project aligns to the mission, vision, goals, and strategic objectives of the organization. We can continue to probe up until you can’t get any higher. Typically this ends with our understanding of how our discovered needs align to risk, revenue, or profitability. “How does that align with your organization’s goals and strategic initiatives?”
According to Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman, 95% of our purchase decision making takes place in the subconscious mind. So what does that mean for our B2B buyer? We need to connect with them on a more human-to-human emotional level. Our left and right questions allow us to do just that.
LEFT = PAIN (Understanding the cost of doing nothing)
As you’re probing up, you can and should also go left and right. As we go left with our questions, we’re probing for pain. What are the negative consequences of inaction for the customer? “What happens if you wait and don’t do anything now?” “If you’re not successful, what will happen?” Research shows that most people are more motivated by avoiding pain (or loss) than what they have to gain (reward). We need to get to pain to connect with motivation.
RIGHT = GAIN (Thinking positively and envisioning the success)
As we ask our right questions, we want to understand all the people who are celebrating at the kickoff party when the solution goes live, and just as importantly, why they’re celebrating. “If you are successful, what will happen?” “Who else would benefit from this outcome?” If you can help your customer get more people from their organization who want to (and are going to) celebrate during the solution kickoff party, your client is going to be that much more likely to secure project Champions, and therefore, project funding.
We talked about how directional questioning is easy… four directions, helping to create a clear picture on how tactical pains create consequential pains for a variety of key stakeholders. We talked about how we can align to what I like to call your customer’s “LOV Language” (Language Of Value), and find other potential Champions in the organization impacted by the change.
So how does directional questioning help us actively listen? Have you ever been introduced at a party, and you start asking the other person questions, diving into an enjoyable dialogue, and find yourself 20 minutes later thinking “I don’t remember this person’s name?” Were you actively listening? Or were you thinking about the next question you were going to ask as they answered your last question? Directional questioning helps prevent you from being distracted by the next question you’re going to ask, allowing you to be present and listening to understand first, then using the directional guide to determine if you’re going to go down, up, left, or right.
So what happens if you get stuck and you’re not sure what direction to go? You can always fall back on the Golden Questions…
Our golden questions can help us understand how we might quantify value of specific pain, and the conversation can quickly lead you back to your directional questions. Additionally, your golden questions can help you understand if you’re talking to a coach, a champion, or an economic buyer. For example, if they get hung up on one of the earlier questions, let's say they know what is being measured (NPS Score) and know the current state (NPS = -20), but they're struggling to share what the future state goal is (NPS should be 25), when the organization wants to get there (-20 to 25 in the next three quarters), and the value of the difference (every point increase in NPS is equal to $250K), you know you need to work your way up in the organization.
Explore directional questioning to maintain focus during your discovery and connect on an emotional level with your customer while identifying other key LOB leaders, and of course, don't forget to actively listen with empathy. Make sure you've always got the right question to ask: Download Kahuoi's Discovery Guidebook for tips, strategies, and sample discovery tips.