If you believe the old phrase “knowledge is power”, then the word “Why” is the most powerful word in the dictionary.

When we were kids, we all went through a “why” phase. Annoying anyone who would take the time to answer us, we wore out that word all day long. Our brains were like sponges, filling with answers to our seemingly random questions followed by an endless number of “Whys”. We were so curious, needing to know everything about everything… down to the smallest detail.

Salespeople need to harness that childhood curiosity throughout the sales process to effectively listen and learn from their prospects. It is my firm belief that a successful sales process is a learning process. Without knowing the “why” behind the challenges you are facing, you cannot truly sell at the top level.

Using “Why” early in the process

During a discovery or qualification stage of the sales process, the objective of the conversation is to determine if your product or service is the right fit for the prospect. If it is, then it is important to gain a clear vision into their issues and the impact they have on the organization as well as the buyer. Using “why” is an amazingly easy way to help achieve that goal.

Qualifying a prospect is a very small step that leaves the salesperson with just a surface level understanding of the challenges the organization may be facing. If you stop there and being sharing your solution, then you leave it completely in the hands of the prospect to connect the dots to the value your solution brings to them and their organization.

Understanding the details behind the issues… the true impact of the issues… gives you a clear understanding of how to build value for that specific prospect. This is where “why” comes into play. Knowing the why behind things like…

• Why are they doing what they do today?
• Why is it a problem?
• Why do they want to solve the problem? (Why not keep doing what they are doing?)
• Why haven’t they done anything about it yet?
• Why is it important to them personally?
• Why is it important to the organization?

As the prospect is responding to your questions, keep the words “so what” in the back of your mind. The prospect’s answer needs to relay impact. If it doesn’t, then ask them something like “so, what do you mean by…” or “so what if that doesn’t happen?” Note, the key to using the “why” or “so, what” is to make it conversational. You cannot be a robot going through your list of questions, peppering them with “whys” as you did when you were a child. Use “why” to dive deeper into their challenge to learn more.

If you do not understand your prospect at this level, then you are missing valuable details that have the potential to send the sales process into a tailspin. If you have a very educated buyer who has done their research and is ready to buy a product or service like yours, then you risk losing the deal because the prospect focused their decision based mainly on price. You have given them no reason to focus anywhere else.

If you are in an early stage market, attempting to educate your prospects on the importance of your product, then it is critical to ensure you drive the questioning deeper using “Why.” If not, you most likely will end up chasing a prospect who has gone dark.

Using “Why” with objections

Many salespeople have a strong understanding of the objections that typically come their way. They have learned how to best respond and quickly address them as they are brought up. However, I recommend avoiding directly responding to the question before you know the “why.”

For example, let’s say the prospect just said something like “the pricing seems too high.” Hearing this means there was not enough value built when presenting the solution. At this point, we have no idea where we lost them and why they feel that way. So, instead of directly responding to their question, say something like… “Why do you say that?”

Their response will help you narrow your focus. You will find out details about their thought process and will quickly realize the best way to recover and respond.

Summary

As a salesperson, if you find yourself in chase mode more than you would like or wasting time painfully dragging opportunities across the finish line, I strongly encourage you to just say “why?” early and often.

It is your mission to help solve the challenges they are facing every day. Find the impact and you will close the deals.

In other words, “Why” = Impact = Money.

So, what are going to do to adjust your approach?