If you were able to get an appointment with the president of an organization that was a potential customer who could give you more business in one sale than all of your other customers combined and when you sat down in front of their desk they said to you, “OK salesperson, you have 3 minutes, why should I do business with you and your organization?” What would you do or say?

Selling can be a challenging and difficult process.

The one concept, that when fully grasped and applied in your sales process that can have a significant positive impact on your sales results is the ability to ask elevator questions and make elevator statements. Let me explain.

What are elevator questions (E.Q.s)? Let me ask you a question: If you were told by a prospect that you had sixty seconds to sell him , what would you do? Would you condense your sales message into a one-minute presentation or talk about your organization and its strengths and history?

Would you ask a few thought-provoking questions or sit or stand there dumbfounded, wondering what to do or what to say?

I recently met an individual on an elevator. He looked like he was a business person, so I asked him, “What do you do for a living?” He responded, “I am in the insurance industry.” My follow-up question was, “What do you do in the insurance business?” He said he was the president. (Keep in mind, I don’t have a lot of time here; we are on an elevator.)

My follow-up question was, “Are you aware of what your lost sales are costing you every year?” (E.Q.)

He responded with, “What do you do for a living?”

I said, “I am in the business of helping organizations increase their sales.” (E.S. – elevator statement)

Needless to say, we continued the discussion in the lobby of the hotel and we left that initial meeting with an exchange of business cards and a commitment to discuss his challenges and my services later in the week by phone.

An elevator question is any question that cuts to the heart of your prospect’s challenges, concerns, or fears and makes him think. It also implies that you or your organization may have a solution for his problems.

Elevator questions are designed to encourage more dialogue between you and your prospect. At this point, you are not selling, you are probing. Remember, there is a time to sell and there is a time to prospect. While on an elevator is not the time to sell. However, based on the other person’s response and emotional reaction to your question, you will begin to determine whether this prospect is worth more of your time, energy, and resources.

Their purpose

I am constantly amazed at salespeople who jump too quickly from the probing and qualifying phase of the sales process to the presentation phase. And then they wonder why they are not closing more sales.

In the profession of medicine, we call a diagnosis without proper information malpractice. In selling, you may not get sued, but you will certainly blow another sale.

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