“Any questions so far?” “Nope, we’re good…”

Existen three parts to this level:

Evaluar y gestionar el flujo de preguntas.
Exploring the intent detrás de preguntas de los prospectos.
Encouraging an actual conversación to take place!

Let’s start with number 3!

Vendor reps operating at skills Levels 1-5 all suffer from a high risk of vendor monologues. These reps are eager to pack as much info into their demos as time allows, which reduces or eliminates the possibility of prospect questions or feedback.

A classic indicator of monologue delivery is the following frequently repeated exchange:

"¿Alguna pregunta hasta ahora?"

“Nope, we’re good.”

“Peeling Back the Layers” in Great Demo! methodology is all about encouraging a productive, bidirectional conversation to take place. Prospects that actively participate in the demo, through inquiry and commentary, are mucho more engaged and are mucho more likely to retain the key ideas presented, particularly if it was their questions that drove the discussion!

Bien, ahora que estamos fomentando activamente las preguntas, volvamos a cómo gestionar el flujo.

Achieving the number 1 above is a dynamic process of determining, “Is this something I need to answer now, or should it be deferred until later?” The use of a questions Parking Lot is an indicator of gestión eficaz de las preguntas. (See Chapter 8 in the Third Edition of GREAT DEMO! for details on this process.)

Far too many demos are diverted in the first few minutes by prospect questions that drag the presenter into the weeds. Innumerable prospect executives have left demo meetings early because of lengthy, detailed explanations by vendor reps thrashing further into the underbrush!

I’d be an extremely rich person, monetarily, if I had a dollar for every time a vendor provided protracted paragraphs of answers to questions that only needed a crisp “Yes” response! (Please take up a collection for me.)

Number 2 above is exploring the por qué behind prospect questions. Is the question being asked in earnest vs a “I’m just curious?” Is it a “landmine” planted by a competitor? Does it represent the need for a “KO” capability vs a less important “nice to have” feature?

¿Cuántas veces hemos oído a un cliente potencial preguntar: "¿Puede su software hacer X?" y el vendedor responde "¡Por supuesto! Déjeme que le muestre cómo funciona..." o "No, pero tenemos una solución... aquí se la mostraré..." sin ninguna pregunta recíproca?

In both cases, the vendor missed an important opportunity to seek clarification:

"¿Qué importancia tiene esto para ti?"

"¿Qué motivó su pregunta?"

"¿Qué necesita conseguir con este tipo de capacidad?".

"¿Con qué frecuencia se utilizaría?"

Prospect responses to these questions can make or break a demo. Skilled question management can keep you out of the weeds, enable you to identify and categorize prospect needs and wants, and address competitive threats while simultaneously encouraging the conversation.

The Level 6 practitioner manages and investigates prospect questions thoughtfully!

Medida(s) para alcanzar el nivel 6:

Achieves a Talk:Listen ratio of 50:50 or better (larger “Listen” numbers are better).
Aplica los principios del aparcamiento.
Hace preguntas aclaratorias.

Pros:

Enables a true conversación que tenga lugar.
Mejora la retención de las ideas clave.
Descubre y aclara cuestiones de prospección no abordadas en la presentación de pruebas.

Contras: