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Questions are an important part of almost every conversation.
So being able to ask good questions is critical to communication.
How can we make our questioning more effective and efficient?
In this two-part series, We'll be looking at some answers.
The skills we'll be learning can be used in any situation, but we'll be focusing on an area where questioning techniques are particularly important.
Needs analysis
This refers to analyzing the needs of a customer as part of the sales process.
We'll study a series of questioning techniques that can be used to drill down to, that is, get to or uncover the information you want.
In today's listening.
Brad is a sales manager for Forrest and Brown a producer of innovative industrial coatings and glues.
Coating refers to a chemical that is applied to the outside of something to protect it.
For example, paint is a type of coating.
Forrest and Brown produces conformal coatings.
This type of coating is used to protect printed circuit boards, or PCBs.
PCBs are small flat boards covered with wiring and electronic parts.
Almost all electronic devices, such as TVs, CD players and phones, have them.
Today, Brad is visiting Andy, who is a production manager for Stratos, an assembler of PCBs that are used in household items.
We can say that Andy is Brad's prospect, the person he wants to sell to.
Let's listen to how Brad asks Andy questions to analyze Stratos' needs.
Listening Questions 1.
What does Brad think of the Stratos facility?
2.
How long has Stratos been located in the current location?
3.
What kind of devices does Stratos produce circuit boards for?
Thanks for the opportunity to meet with you today, Mr. Meyer.
No problem.
Call me Andy.
The pleasure's mine.
So, what do you think of our facility?
Great people.
I'm keen to take a look at your production line.
I think that can be arranged.
How long have you been located here?
About three years now.
We moved from the suburbs.
This seems like a great location.
Well, it has its ups and downs, but mainly ups.
That's good to hear.
So what products do you mainly focus on?
Mostly home appliances and consumer electronics.
I mean, specifically, what kind of devices?
Well, it runs a gamut.
Everything from AC-DC converters and power supplies to TVs and coffee machines.
Interesting.
TVs?
Yeah, we do a lot of boards for LCD TVs.
Actually, we've just landed a big contract for LCDs.
Though at the beginning Andy seems a little uncommunicative, that is, a little unwilling to freely share information, Brad has asked a series of questions that are starting to get Andy to open up.
Let's look carefully at Brad's questioning techniques.
First, Brad and Andy ask each other some small talk questions to warm up the atmosphere.
Obviously, this kind of chit-chat is an important part of any sales call and many conversations.
Thanks for the opportunity to meet with you today, Mr. Meyer.
No problem.
Call me Andy.
The pleasure's mine.
So, what do you think of our facility?
Andy's question, what do you think of our facility, is what we call an open question.
Open questions...
Begin with what, who, when, where, why, or how.
For example.
What do you do?
Who do you know?
When did you arrive?
Where do you work?
Why did you move?
These are called open questions because the person you are talking to is free to respond in many different ways compared to closed or yes or no questions such as Are you a salesperson?
Do you know Bob?
Did you arrive at 10?
Do you work at Stratus?
Obviously, In response to closed questions, we can only say yes or no.
So now let me ask you a question.
Would you use open or closed questions when you hope to get someone started talking about themselves or their organization?
The answer is obvious.
Open questions are better for encouraging conversation because they give the person you're talking to more room to respond.
That's why open questions are usually better for starting small talk.
This is the first technique we'll study today, asking open questions to encourage lively chitchat.
Listen to another example from the dialogue.
How long have you been located here?
About three years now.
We moved from the suburbs.
In addition to small talk, there's another important use for open questions.
When gathering information, it's good to start with open questions.
They're useful for getting the ball rolling, that is, getting the prospect talking about his or her business, so you can collect a lot of information and then later decide what to focus on.
How does Brad do this?
Listen.
This seems like a great location.
Well, it has its ups and downs, but mainly ups.
That's good to hear.
So what products do you mainly focus on?
This is where Brad makes the transition from small talk to sales talk.
So indicates a change in topic.
Then Brad uses the open question.
What products do you mainly focus on to start Andy talking about his business?
How does Andy respond?
Mostly home appliances and consumer electronics.
Andy's reply is very general.
That is, it doesn't contain much specific information.
Therefore, Brad needs another type of question to focus or zoom in on what's important.
I mean, specifically, what kind of devices.
This is called a probing question.
To probe means to search.
For example, doctors probe inside patients to find the problems.
It can also be used as a noun.
For example, we can send a probe into outer space to collect data about other planets.
In Brad's probing question, the key word is specifically.
Specifically, what kind of devices?
Brad is looking for focused information on the exact types of products that Stratus works on.
Why? because he needs this information to sell effectively.
What kind of and what sort of exactly are very helpful for probing questions?
What is some other useful language?
Can you go into more detail about that?
Let's focus in a little more on what you just said.
What exactly do you mean by strong results, if I might ask?
Which type of market are you targeting exactly?
That's very interesting.
Can you tell me a little bit more about the types of products you focus on?
How can you make probing questions polite?
Notice that in these examples, we avoid direct orders.
Instead of tell me, it's can you tell me?
Also, we use qualifiers.
A little.
Exactly.
A little more detail.
And, if I might ask, avoiding direct orders and using qualifiers are ways to make your probing questions more respectful.
Let's get back to the dialogue.
In response to Brad's probing question, Andy answers more specifically by providing actual examples of Stratus' products.
Well, it runs a gamut everything from AC-DC converters and power supplies to TVs and coffee machines.
Now Brad has a lot more information, a lot more to work with.
It runs the gamut means that it contains a wide variety.
Gamut refers to the entire range of color that can be seen.
Idiomatically, it basically just means wide range.
AC-DC converters are used to convert or switch types of electrical current, from AC or alternating current to DC or direct current.
Power converter refers to any electrical component that converts electricity from a cord plugged into your wall into the type that can be used by a machine.
How does Brad respond to Andy?
Interesting.
TVs?
Yeah, we do a lot of boards for LCD TVs.
Actually, we've just landed a big contract for LCDs.
Here, Brad uses two strategies for showing interest.
First, he makes a personal response.
Interesting.
Then he repeats or echoes a word that Andy just said.
TVs.
These and other strategies for keeping the conversation going by showing interest were covered in BEP 45, which would be a good show to review.
The key point for us here is to notice that Brad echoes or shows interest in the product that he's most likely to be able to convince Andy to buy a conformal coating for TVs.
In other words, Brad knows that his company produces a coating that could be very useful for circuit boards and TVs and he wishes to follow that line of questioning.
So he shows interest in this product.
In the next episode, we'll see how the conversation develops.
In the meantime, it's your turn to practice.
Let's focus on a very important technique that we've covered today, asking probing questions.
Imagine you're at a meeting with your colleague, Brad.
You're visiting Cindy, a customer.
Brad will ask Cindy a series of questions.
But Cindy's replies are very general.
It's up to you to ask a probing question to get more information out of Cindy.
After she speaks, you'll hear a beep.
Then use such language as, what kind of, what sort of, what do you mean by that exactly?
Can you be more specific about that?
And so on.
Avoid direct orders and use qualifiers to be polite.
After each dialogue, we'll play an example answer.
Are you ready?
Let's begin.
So, who are your main target customers for this product?
Oh, the normal kind.
Answer.
So, who are your main target customers for this product?
Oh, the normal kind.
Could you be a little more specific?
What kind of customer are you dealing with exactly?
What are your plans for the next five years?
Well, we want to grow.
Answer What are your plans for the next five years?
Well, we want to grow.
What do you mean exactly by grow, if I might ask?
Why did you choose this market?
It seemed like the best option.
Answer Why did you choose this market?
It seemed like the best option.
Interesting.
What do you mean by that exactly?
How did you do?
Practice again for fluency and try substituting different responses to learn a variety of language.
That's about all for today's episode.
This was the first in a two-part series on questioning techniques.
Though we've been focusing on needs analysis in a sales customer situation, The techniques we are studying are useful for any conversation where you need to gather information.
In particular, we've learned about some particular uses for open questions and we've practiced an advanced questioning technique, the probing question.
In the next episode, we'll continue exploring a series of questioning techniques that can be used together to drill down to the information you need will learn about reflective and hypothetical questions, among others.
The goal is to help you make your use of questions more efficient and effective.
And don't forget to sign up for a free trial of our new online exercises for this and other shows.
These activities can help you get more practice on the language and strategies we've learned today.
And it's all at www.businessenglishpod.com.
Thanks for listening. and the new PhraseCast to practice all the useful language we featured today.
