What are some of your common "asking" questions

I don't know why this keeps wiping me out...

Short version... the when do you close thread got me wondering what are some of the common phrases you all might use to move the sale forward?

For me, I'm pretty casual, and so phrases like:

Ok.. so should I take care of the paperwork then?

So does this look alright then?

So shall we do this?

So you wanna do this?

and rarely, but occasionally something like, Mr. You'remyfavoritetoday isn't protecting you and your family against critical illness worth a hours labor each week?

I'd like to learn what other methods you guys use commonly that work for you are and how I might be able to "adopt" some of them techniques into my own strategies...

Thanks in Advance...

Much Aloha,

Tom shds; ;bg -rattus58

Hi Tom,

Two distinctions that might help: Trial Close versus the Direct Close

The Trial Close allows the salesperson to recognize ‘when’. So where a Direct Close asks for a commitment, a Trial Close asks for an opinion. People respond one of three ways: Positive(move forward, possibly close), Positive, but I have more questions (keep going), Negative (handle objections). No matter what the answer, the sales person maintains the initiative.

Some Trial Close examples are;

How do you feel about that?
Does that make sense?
Have I made myself clear how that works?
Would that be important to you?
Do you have an interest in knowing more about this?

How about this one for your business; Now that we've discussed all of this together, when when I say Long Term Care Insurance, what one word that comes to mind?

or

Now that you know how it affects you, what's the first word that comes to mind when you think about AFLAC Disability Insurance? Tell me more...

Anyway, after this you can decide when to ask a direct close if needed.

Something like - As your consultant and based on the facts, I think it’s worth doing, but the decision is yours. Which way did you want to go?

or something more direct.

Which plan would work best for you?


-Tony_B

Tom, I think those are very good. People DO talk casual, and salespeople are people. Here are some finesses--hope you don't mind.

Ok.. so should I take care of the paperwork then?

I'm going to do the paperwork. Is that OK?

So does this look alright then?

This looks good. What do you think?

So shall we do this?

Can we do this?

So you wanna do this?

Shall we do it?

Note: Eliminate "then".
-Ace Coldiron

The first three are effective, in my opinion. -Ace Coldiron

Thanks... agreed... what am I thinking..... :)

Much Aloha.. Tom thmbp2; -rattus58

Thanks.... You're right... I guess I do go through a lot of "trial" closes in my "discovery" ... :) I like these.

Much Aloha.. Tom thmbp2; -rattus58

Tom, for the sake of discussion, what do you LIKE about "Which plan would work best for you?" as a "direct" close. What am I missing? -Ace Coldiron

Ace..... I'm a student of sales. I am a purveyor of insurance. As a worksite marketer I am a peddler... thmbp2;

However, in this question that you ask, "which plan would work best for you", I wouldn't consider a direct close at all, but a question of choice from which an answer of either would advance the sale. I don't know if Tom Hopkins called this an alternate advance close or not, but something like this sounds familiar.

In MY OPINION, a Direct Close for me would be like "Mr. Yourdabest you indicated that the financial implications of a heart attack, stroke or invasive cancer on your business would or could be considered grave, is that a correct statement?

Mr. Yourdabest, we looked at a financial product that pays cash money in the event of Heart Attack, Stroke, Cancer and 12 other serious conditions that can allow you to safely give your business to your son, pay off your mortgages and debts, and allow you to utilize your disability coverage, if such is the case, till retirement age for your daily financial needs... like fishing... :), shall we go ahead with it?

Much Aloha... Tom shds; -rattus58

I would not consider it a direct close either which is one reason I asked.

I do not think it would advance the sale. Here is why. I believe that your presentation would make their choice "obvious" which to me is critical. If you're reaching a point where you ask the question "Which..." it moves the sale backward.

With regard to Hopkins, he taught the "alternate advance close" as a "minor choice" that could affirm the sale. "Which plan..?" is a major choice.

That said, I very much like what you wrote in your post. -Ace Coldiron

A friend of mine recently got Disability Insurance and one of the closes was, "which plan works best for you, the monthly payment plan or the bi-annual plan?" They knew what was needed but relieved some anxiety from the close by asking how the person would prefer to pay for it. It could have even been softer if they said "If you were to decide to move forward with this plan, which payment option would you prefer...

Alternative advance, minor point close, either/or, there are many names for the closes but the distinctions of how they are received and when to use them are key to becoming better at asking for the sale. -Tony_B