1. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Welcome to Questioning Strategies
Presenter: Brian Kavicky
Sales Associate at Lushin & Associates, Inc.

2. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Ground Rules
• To be able to talk and ask questions, you must use the
audio code.
• To ask questions, either type the question or raise your
hand--you can do this at any time.
• This is a dynamic webinar. The more that you
participate, the more relevant it will be for you.
• Following the webinar, please submit the feedback form.
• If you would like to know more about what we do and how
we can help, please let us know on the feedback form.

3. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Context
Your value as a sales professional (and ultimately the amount
of your commissions) is determined more by the amount of
information you gather than by the amount of information you
dispense.

4. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Traditional Context
Role of Questions in Traditional Selling
• Find the need, do a needs assessment
• Figure out the product or service the client is likely to
buy

5. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Lushin Context
New Context for Asking Questions
• Gather information
• About how the sale will be made
• Decision making process and budget
• Uncover the compelling reason to buy
• Find out what the prospect is really looking for
• Gain Credibility

6. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Selling Today
Selling is Experiential
• How do we celebrate our children’s birthdays?
• When prospects discover why they need or want
something, the experience becomes real.

7. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Smokescreens
Our parents taught us to ask the wrong questions.

8. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Smokescreens

9. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Questioning Strategies
The problem the prospect brings you is never the real
problem.
Rule of 3+
Without knowing the “real” question and the reason for
it, “good” answers can get you killed.

10. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Rule of 3+
• It often takes three or more questions to clear away the
smoke
• The first two answers are intellectual in nature
• The third is an emotional response that reflects true intent
• Normally there is a compelling reason behind the real
question

11. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Survey
Where does the train come off the tracks?

12. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Mindset
Why won’t we ask the right questions?
• Need for Approval
• Emotional Involvement
• Money Weakness
• Record Collection
• “I must educate my prospect.”
• “I must answer all of my prospects questions.”

13. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Rules
Bad questions get you bad answers.
Strong questions get you strong answers.

14. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Rules
The one who is asking the questions has the control.

15. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Questioning Strategies
Techniques
• Dummy Curve
• Gap Questions
• Reversing

16. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Dummy Curve
The curse of product knowledge and experience.
A professional does what he did as a dummy—on purpose.

17. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Dummy Curve
Dummy Professional
Phase Phase
Sales
Amateur
Phase
Time

18. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Gap Questions
• Create a gap between where the prospect is and where
they think they should be
• Even more powerful if done in two parts

19. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Gap Questions
• What’s not happening that should be happening?
• What are you doing that you shouldn’t be doing?
• How much do you think you are over paying?
• What kind of service are you getting? What should you be
getting?

20. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Reversing
Always answer a question with a question.
If possible, soften it up a little.

21. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Reversing
Straight Reverses (to get a restatement of the question)
• What?
• Huh?
• Can you say that again?
• I didn’t hear you
• Eh?
• Sorry, what?

22. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Reversing
Other Effective Reverses
• Start-Stop
• Let’s pretend
• Self-talk

23. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Questioning Strategies
What answers are you not getting?
What questions lock you up?

24. Sales Training for Success, Coaching for Life.
lushin.com / 317-846-9200
Questioning Strategies
Questions?
Fill out the feedback form following this webinar.