As usual, you hit the nail on the head. Gone are the days of asking lame questions like, “Are you the final decision maker?, or “Who else am I competing with?” These used to be considered great lead-ins, but today’s savvier buyer wants it smart, fast and real. They can spot a fake a mile away.

Two more questions worth asking:

“Why do you ask?”

Followed by:

“Is that important to you?”

This keeps the customer talking, while you listen carefully and glean what’s really important to the customer.

No doubt your readers who are copywriters have often faced a situation where a client says they want one thing (“Can you write an article and insert the keywords correctly?”) when they really need something else )”Oh, yeah, by the way, I don’t even know what keywords to use. Can you help me with that too?”)

If sales is the oldest profession , listening and using correct questioning methods to uncover the client’s real needs is the oldest path to the sale…and to creating the foundation for scripts that lead to profits and loyal customers.

Great advice, Steve. Keep it coming!