Need Identification

This is the stage in which the sale professional takes the qualified prospect through a series of questions and answer sessions to determine or identify the requirements of the prospect.

During this question and answer session, you as the sales person will attempt to help your buyer identify and qualify a business need or ‘gap’ between where the prospect is today and where they need to be in the future. Based on the gap, needs can be clarified to determine if the solution will fill all or part of this overall gap.  

Needs can be explained another way: the salesperson who uses selling skills to uncover prospects needs then tailor the response to them. The solutions presented relate directly to the prospects situation and needs. Features are still mentioned, but the emphasis is on the benefit – or value – to the prospect. These salespersons are called Needs Satisfaction Sellers and satisfy the prospective customer’s organizational needs by addressing problems and opportunities.

So it seems logical to assess your prospective customer’s needs, not wants, from the beginning. ‘Wants’ are different. Think about this, who would rather eat a candy bar than a health snack bar? We all want a candy bar, but we probably all need a health snack bar. Really listen to your prospect and help them decide what it is they need, not want.

What’s the difference between what people need and what people want? Needs are high level of awareness, related to a specific product or service and factually oriented. Wants have a low level of awareness, unrelated to any specific product or service and are emotionally based.

Unfortunately, pure needs-based selling is a myth of the 20^th century. If prospects bought only what they needed, there would be little room left for the emotional side of selling. Needs are rational, while wants are extremely emotional and sales are really all about emotion, aren’t they?

We’ll talk more about emotional selling and buying later in the book.

The Power Of An Understood Need –

You must be in front of prospects that have a need already and are aware of it. Just ask any experienced salesperson how successful he or she has been at trying to ‘create’ a need and you will learn how fruitless that effort can be. The prospect has a need and it’s your job to help them find it if they don’t already know what it is, or to listen to what it is and get it to them.

How To Get To The Need –

Prepare in advance the questions you’ll ask. Of course every prospect is unique and every selling situation requires some variation, but certain basic questions that come up in every interview can be planned in advance. By carefully planning these questions, you can make sure you cover all bases and that you’re wording them properly. There is one caution: be careful not to phrase them so they sound canned or for every prospect. Customize them to this prospect. 

Ask as many open-ended questions as possible. Closed questions that call for only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer tend to discourage people from talking, to give only limited information and they tend to set a negative tone for the conversation. It’s a get in/get out type of set up and you don’t want that.

Ask need-based questions. In this ‘probe step’ you want to do more than get your prospect to talk; you want to find out what he or she needs. Therefore, frame questions that will give you insight into how prospects perceive their needs.

Ask questions that help you identify problems to be solved. Usually there’s one overriding problem that needs to be resolved in the prospect’s mind – a circumstance or situation you can understand by asking the right questions.  

Ask questions that help you pinpoint the overriding buying motivations. Buying motivations and needs are not always the same. Buying motivations have to do with desires, feelings, taste, and so on.

Ask questions that are easy to answer. Questions that require knowledge the prospect doesn’t have can often make him or her feel dumb. The smarter you make your prospect feel, the smarter they’ll think you are and the more they’ll like you.

Use questions to guide the interview and keep the tone positive. Some people love to ramble on and on, but by skilfully using questions, you can keep the interview focused and moving in the right direction.

Ask – and then listen. The prospect can’t talk while you are talking. Besides, you can’t learn while you’re talking. Don’t just get quiet and think up something to say next – besides, you should already have your list of questions ready to go – instead, listen to every word that prospect says and analyse the words, the tones, and the gestures.

Remember; you can talk people into buying, but you can often listen them into it as well. Questions are your greatest selling tool. The better you become at asking questions, the easier it will become for you to sell.

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“The essence of selling is understanding your customer's needs and convincing him that you're the best one to meet them.”
                                         - Fred Blalek, co-founder, National Semiconductor Corp