Framing, Timing and Space

Hey, Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 2 minutes.

Good answers come from good questions.

Bad answers come from the wrong questions.

If you aren't getting the answers you want, ask better questions.

Recently, after dinner with a friend, we wanted FroYo.

However, my friend is allergic to dairy, so she left the line to see if FroYo had any dairy-free options.

A retail assistant assumed she was jumping the line.

My friend asked the retail assistant to look at the flavors. The assistant replied, "You can wait behind the people in front of you, then see the flavors."

This misunderstanding could have been avoided if either person asked better questions.

My friend could have framed her dairy allergy. She could have let the retail assistant know it was her first visit to the store for timing and provided space for the retail assistant to help with her dairy allergy question.

The retail assistant could have framed the queuing system, asked if it was my friend's first visit, timing, and offered her the space to look before politely returning to the queue.

Take the lead

As a seller, you conduct a "buyer <> seller dance" every day.

Buyers only engage in the dance once a year—maybe twice, if it's a big year.

Elite sellers are like good dance partners. They lead the conversation and aim to help the buyer arrive at the right outcomes more effectively and efficiently than dancing alone.

Most buyers start buying journeys thinking:

• Do I want this?
• Do I need this?
• Why should I care about this?

Most buyers know they need answers to these questions. But they don't know the appropriate context a seller needs to help them find answers.

Goldilocks Questions

Sellers often fall into question pitfalls. For example, imagine a discovery call; sellers could open with anything from:

• "Tell me about your business" (Too vague)
• "Are you struggling with XXX problems right now" (Too specific)
• "You could be doing anything right now; help me understand what changed recently to make you agree to this call" (Goldilocks question)

Goldilocks questions are when a seller provides enough support that a buyer knows how they are supposed to answer. The best Goldilocks questions have three elements:

• Framing
• Timing
• Space

By framing a question, the seller guides the buyer to where to start. Elite sellers also give the buyer the context of why they are asking the question.

Timing is about creating more focus and keeping the buyer on track with their answer.

Lastly, Goldilocks questions end with the space for a buyer to answer. In other words, stop talking.

Next Sales Call

Before your next sales call, invest 10 minutes into the most critical outcome your buyer needs from this call.

Unless this is a closing call, focus on what they need to get closer to a purchase rather than what they need to complete the purchase.

Take their outcome and create 3-5 questions you can ask using the Framing, Timing, and Space framework.

Your goal for the call is to ask at least one of these questions, ideally all 3-5.

The better questions you can ask to lead your buyer to the right outcome, the more deals you will close.

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