If you ever did a sales training course, you were probably told that you should find out what people need and then give it to them.  Good marketers know that, regrettably, such an approach just won’t work.  People don’t look for what they need; they look for what they want.

So, to be successful you must find out what people want and, having unearthed that, help them by asking questions to make the transition to what they need.  Once they know what they really need they’ll be ready to learn how your product or service can solve their problems.

Frank Bettger, author of the all time best book on selling (and a personal favourite of mine) How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success Through Selling puts it this way “Find out what a person needs and show them how to get it… they’ll move heaven and earth to get it.”

So the tip? Ask questions to unearth the prospect’s real problem. You and every member of your team should be able to take a prospect through a series of questions that unearth their need and at the same time build their trust, confidence and respect.

An interesting aside too… unusually, the paperback edition of the book is cheaper than the Kindle edition at Amazon.