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According to legend, in a church in a certain country, one day a priest, unable to resist the urge to smoke during a service, asked his superior, “May I smoke while praying?” As a result, he was reprimanded. Later, another priest, also craving a cigarette during prayer, phrased the question differently: “May I pray while smoking?” The superior smiled and granted his request.

The same situation, needing to solve the same problem, yielded different outcomes due to different phrasing. (All communication in life aims for a good result, doesn’t it?) This shows that asking questions requires skill, especially in sales. Asking questions skillfully not only gives you an advantage but also helps you achieve your desired results more smoothly.

In general sales situations, questions are mainly divided into two categories: closed-ended questions and open-ended questions.

I. Closed-Ended Questions:

  1. Definition: Closed-ended questions are those that lead to a specific answer within a specific domain, typically requiring a “yes” or “no” response.
  2. Example: “Your family’s health is important to you, so when watching TV, you wouldn’t want radiation to harm your eyes, right?” — “Do you think this Haier TV feature is really practical?”
  3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Closed-Ended Questions:
    • Advantages: They allow the questioner to obtain specific data or information, and the respondent doesn’t need to think much to answer.
    • Disadvantages: These questions can carry a certain degree of threat, often making customers feel uncomfortable. Therefore, language should not be too sharp; use more neutral terms.
  4. Subtypes of Closed-Ended Questions:
    • Choice-Type Questions: These offer the other party several options to choose from. They provide two or more conditions, allowing the other party to select within a specific range, with no room to go beyond. For example: “Do you prefer something more fashionable or more minimalist?” “Do you think internal quality is more important, or just having a stylish appearance?”
    • Clarification-Type Questions: These ask the other party to confirm or supplement their previous answer. They aim to make the other party clarify their stance. For example: “You mentioned earlier that you like TVs with advanced features—doesn’t Hisense TV suit you well?”
    • Suggestive Questions: These strongly imply the expected answer, essentially urging the other party to make a decision. For example: “When buying a TV, you’re buying the product itself, not the free gifts, right?” “With this advanced quick-start feature, using the TV becomes more convenient, doesn’t it?” “Watching old-style TVs often makes your eyes tired, doesn’t it?” “Only high-end monitors have color temperature adjustment, like computer monitors, right?”
    • Reference-Type Questions: These use a third party’s opinion as a reference. If the third party is someone the customer knows, it can significantly influence the customer, who may then agree. For example: “Recently, Shangri-La Hotel ordered 156 of our Hisense plasma TVs—what do you think of that?”

II. Open-Ended Questions:

  1. Definition: Open-ended questions are those that elicit broad answers within a wide domain, and they usually cannot be answered with simple “yes” or “no” responses.
  2. Example: “What features do you think a good TV should have?”
  3. Advantages and Disadvantages:
    • Advantages: Because these questions do not limit the scope of answers, they allow the other party to speak freely, and the questioner can obtain more information.
    • Disadvantages: The skill of questioning is crucial; if the question is contrary to your product, it can lead to embarrassment or a passive position. Therefore, the guiding nature of the question is very important. Never ask about aspects where your product is not yet perfect.
  4. Subtypes of Open-Ended Questions:
    • Consultative Questions: These are questions that discuss a matter with the other party. They are usually related to the other party’s interests and are a form of seeking their opinion. For example: “You see, I’ve introduced the main advantages of this TV—do you need more time to consider?”
    • Exploratory Questions: These extend the conversation based on the other party’s answer. They not only uncover more complete information but also show the questioner’s interest and attention to the topic. For example: “You mentioned earlier that you had a bad experience with Haier TV quality—could you tell me what aspects were not good?”
    • Heuristic Questions: These encourage the other party to share their views and opinions, in order to absorb new ideas and suggestions. For example: “Nowadays, the technology of a TV mainly depends on whether the core is advanced—what do you think?”

Summary: In the sales process, it’s important not only to highlight the advantages of our products but, more crucially, to “ask” to uncover the customer’s true needs, so we can “prescribe the right remedy” and successfully sell the product. When asking questions, you should gradually narrow from broad questions to specific ones, avoid vague wording, avoid threatening, lecturing, or sarcastic language, and avoid interrogative or cross-examining tones.

As the saying goes, “Sing different songs on different mountains, and speak different words to different people.” When asking questions, consider the other person’s age, identity, cultural background, and personality. Some people are enthusiastic and straightforward, some are introverted, some are carefree, and some are cautious and suspicious. Different personalities and temperaments require different approaches. If you ignore these traits and use a single tone or method, you will hit a wall. This requires us to continuously practice, summarize, reflect, and understand principles in our daily work, finding patterns—that is your accumulation. So, the ancients left us a saying: “There is no end to learning.”

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