What makes a conversational approach most effective? Ask a relevant question and listen actively to the response. That’s it. No rocket science!

You don’t want to use a checklist to march through until you raise all the questions like a robot. Instead, you want the discussion to be engaging and free-flowing with a human touch. Agree? Hence, top Sales Engagement questions come into the picture.

You should accept the prospect’s words and confirm that you understand the response. Since each buyer moves through a different phase, every salesperson needs to be well prepared. To ensure better business relationship management, you must ask the right questions using data, regardless of where your B2B client is in the sales pipeline.

What exactly are sales engagement questions for?

Sales Engagement questions are focused questionnaires you use throughout your sales process to learn necessary details about your prospect’s pain points, budget, and other elements that could influence the sale.

Well-prepared sales engagement questions significantly help you in many ways. Such as:

• Before you devote weeks of your time to nurturing your prospects, your sales engagement questions assist you with qualifying valuable ones or excluding unfit ones from your sales process, depending on their responses.

• You can learn more about your prospect’s intended purchase strategy by asking them questions during the sales engagement process. For instance, they’ll reveal more if you ask them about their spending limit, the decision-maker who took part in the purchase, the decision-making deadline, etc.

• Asking relevant questions at the end of a conversation helps a worthy prospect move to the next step of the sales process each time you connect with them. It works much like a powerful CTA (call to action).

9 Crucial Questions For Your Prospects To Drive Engagement

Prospecting is not only about asking questions, listening to responses, and offering solutions but more than that. It is also about developing a trusting relationship with a potential prospect. Therefore, gather all the necessary data to create the appropriate sales proposal to win the game. 

Let’s discuss the questions.

Questions for understanding a prospect’s pain points

Knowing your prospect’s pain points enables you to serve as a valuable resource through your solutions. You can learn more about your prospect’s existing challenges and obstacles they are dealing with by asking them the following questions.

1. How well-versed are you in [subject]?

You can learn more about a prospect’s knowledge of their present situation by asking them this question. Some potential customers will have already done extensive research on their problems, whereas others will only be becoming aware of the issue or obstacle they are facing. You can customize the conversation based on their response and level of understanding.

This question is a friendly method to start a conversation and will eventually open the door for you to go deeper into their issues. If they are unaware of their pain points, let them know about it first and then offer how you can assist them in resolving the obstacles.

2. How are you handling [problem] and trying to solve it?

Once you learn about your prospect’s current situation, this question will make it easier for you to explain the advantages of your offering to them, formulating strategies for positioning your product or service.

It also helps you find out who is involved in the company. For instance, if they say their CEO and CFO are the most significant persons in the accounting process, you might concentrate your sales pitch on the advantages that draw their attention the most.

Questions for the discovery process

The discovery process is crucial to closing deals since you can learn more about the specifics and nuanced aspects of your buyer’s business environment, needs, and decision-making criteria by asking open-ended sales engagement questions.

3. What are your goals for the upcoming [number] months?

This question helps you get considerably more detail in your prospect’s answer. Asking potential prospects about their goals can help you determine the value of your sales proposition in their context and language.

You can learn from the answer to this query that the potential client considers another solution far more urgent or needs your offering immediately. It aids in more accurate forecasting of your deals and helps AEs prioritize the deals they are working on.

4. Could you point out an area where your competitors are outselling you regarding customer acquisition?

Finding out where a prospect believes they fall short compared to their competitors allows you to start a conversation about their shortcomings. This prepares you to talk about how you would make things right.

By doing this, you will be able to present an actual, verified solution to the issue at hand rather than just making a familiar guess. The more a prospect talks, the better you can prepare for a pitch. So, let them speak! Moreover, actively listening can influence your job performance by up to 40% (source).

Questions for knowing a prospect’s expectations

5. You are an expert on X. Why did you select that specific target market?

This sales engagement question will teach you more about your prospect’s company, alongside their target market and ultimate objectives. You may be able to position your product or service more effectively by getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how your prospects think while also gaining a deeper understanding of rapport building. 

Creating your sales pitch by thinking about the language that would appeal to the target customer’s specialty and target market will be more effortless.

6. What does the ideal solution for your company look like according to your POV?

Sometimes you have to assume that your potential customer has looked at some options (which they do) and has a clear vision of what they want as a solution suitable for their business. You can learn more about their expectations by asking them this question without directly addressing them.

From their answers, you can ensure that during the product demo, you must cover their most important expectations. 

Questions for closing a deal

It’s time to talk about closing the deal once you’ve taken the time to understand your prospect’s needs and current and future states. You may lessen their worry by emphasizing how your product or solution can be an effective ointment for their pain areas and assist them in achieving their business goals.

Related post: What is the difference between a sales pitch and closing sales?

7. Should I send the sales proposal to anyone else in your organization?

Now you’re on the verge of securing your prospect as a new client. How will asking this question leads you toward deal closure? 

Inquiring about other decision-makers will urge your prospect to confirm their participation in the purchase. Then, you may include them in your follow-up email to confirm what you discussed on the phone and make sure they receive the proposal you sent. 

8. May I know your deadline for deciding on solving it?

This question sounds a little urgent since the prospect is almost at the bottom of the sales funnel. So, it’s an ideal sales engagement question for deal closure.

Your prospects can allow you to follow up immediately after your calls or if you don’t hear back from them for a few days if they inform you their deadline is in 30 days. However, you can leave a longer gap between follow-ups if they say their deadline is 180 days from now because they’re still having internal talks, and it’s not their top priority.

However, if they don’t have a deadline, ensure they set one after you ask them this question.

• Are there any budget constraints with this solution?

It’s best to comprehend your prospect’s spending capacity when offering them a solution. A skilled salesperson can demonstrate how the solution can effectively increase team productivity, which may generate more money if there are price-related issues.

However, if sticking to a tight budget is a significant concern, sales teams must coordinate closely with legal and accounting teams to develop the optimal pricing structure and packages. It will help you close the deal while also providing your prospect with a solution that suits their budget.

The article concludes that the conversation is where the sale is made. Therefore, initiate a conversation that reveals the required data while establishing yourself as an authority and valuable resource. Prepare yourself to engage the other person at each meeting before starting the human work of developing a rapport. Additionally, keep handy necessary sales engagement tools to enable sales automation for a more reasonable conversation.