How to coach your customers better by digging deeper

Here's a simple yet powerful process for asking great coaching questions

Peter Button
October 30, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Hello Sales Reset Community

This week, we’re focusing on how to use all your product and market knowledge best.

Our first newsletter of the week introduced the BIG difference between using your knowledge for either ADVISING or COACHING.

You can use everything you know to:

ADVISE: You can answer your customers' questions and explain your products and services.
COACH: Or you can use your hard-won knowledge and experience to coach your customers.

In our first newsletter, we gave you some guidance about when to advise and when to coach.

Our second practical recommendation is about how to improve your coaching questions.

Here’s a simple yet powerful process for asking some terrific coaching questions:

Most Significant Element?: When you ask coaching questions, listen intently to your customer’s responses. What is the single most significant element in their response?
Dig Deeper: In your next question, repeat the most significant thing you heard them say from the first step in this process. Then, ask them to explore that aspect of their situation further. (Your customer will welcome this evidence that you were genuinely listening!)
Repeat! With practice, you’ll be able to repeat this process several times, digging deeper with every question. Almost inevitably, your customer will likely find themselves exploring new ideas and implications by about your third or fourth question!

And here’s how you can take this simple but powerful process to a whole new level.

Add Relevant Insight: When you identify the most significant insight, try to recall a particularly relevant insight about best practice or market intelligence. In your question that repeats what they said, briefly reference your chosen insight as a prompt to help them talk about their situation.

As you practice this process, you’ll learn a HUGE amount from your customers.

Everybody’s a winner when we become increasingly skilled in coaching customers!

Our new Sales Reset Together community is now meeting regularly. Click here to join and register to join our LIVE workshops to share experience and practice.

Sales Reset Stories: Members meet to share their experiences and stories of this week’s Weekly Sales Reset theme. Every Tuesday at 4:30 pm UK time
LIVE! Practice: We’re about to meet monthly to practice in small group role-play sessions using Zoom break-out rooms. On Thursday, November 7 at 4:30 pm UK time, our LIVE! Practice will focus on coaching customers.

We look forward to meeting you in our community and hearing your stories about coaching customers.

We hope your week is going great!

The Sales Reset Team

Sales Reset Founder & Leader

Sales Leadership Coach

Does your sales team leader or coach subscribe to our companion weekly newsletter, Sales Reset Leaders?

Every member of a B2B sales team should expect continual coaching and support from their sales team leader.

Sustained coaching is the key to effective practice, performance and results! 😃

Subscribers to Sales Reset Leaders will get fresh ideas about giving you the best support with your Weekly Sales Reset.

Make sure to get time in your calendars for coaching this week!

or to participate.