When asking questions, the importance of how those questions are positioned is essential. Be mindful of these 5 elements to start asking better questions today.

Be sure that your questions succeed in achieving the following objectives.

1. Be direct and candid with your questioning and communication. Do not be vague or tiptoe around the subject or question. Make the question clear, focused, direct and concise.

2. Make sure that your questions open up new possibilities, ideas and opportunities in the mind of the prospect that they never considered. Do they enable the prospect to see a new and better solution and envision more measurable worthwhile results, based on the information that you have provided?

3. Have the prospect draw from previous purchasing experiences to determine their buying habits, wants, priorities, and needs.

4. Learn to question what is said and what is not said. Never prejudge a prospect until you have the evidence to support your assumptions. Utilize questions until you are satisfied with the response.

5. Use questions to achieve mind share and agreement as well as to gracefully uncover and correct the inaccuracies and misconceptions which they my have about your product or service.

Excerpt from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Closing the Sale by Keith Rosen. Reprinted with permission by Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Release Date, January, 2007.

Photo credit: Terry McCombs