This is what you work for — it’s time to close that sale you’ve fought so hard to make. But asking the wrong questions can still kill the deal. What are the right ones to ask?

“Checking” questions are what you want to ask — not “leading” questions, which can actually lead vendors and customers away from the close.

By now, you’ve already nailed down the customer’s needs, possible solutions and time frames for implementing those solutions. Now all that’s left is tying up the lose ends.

The right questions will help you do that. Some examples of checking questions worth asking and leading questions worth avoiding:

• Checking: “How does that sound?”
• Leading: “Does that sound like it makes sense to you?”
• Checking: “What do you think?”
• Leading: “Do you agree?”

Leading questions rarely yield useful responses: “Uh-huh.” …  “It’s OK.” …  “I guess so.”

Checking questions allow customers to bring up those last-minute uncertainties — and help you make a solid close.

Tags: close, leading questions