Sales Sucks…but Does It Have To? Asking the Right Questions for Better Client Meetings

If you are like a lot of MSP Owners, sales and marketing are two of the things that, if you did not have to do, you would be just as happy. However, sales is necessary, and you need to do it, darn it! Repeat after me…”I must do sales!!” Whether it comes in the form of a referral, cold call, marketing lead, inbound call, or social media message, you must make an appointment and go onsite. 

The first meeting is where it seems to fall apart for a lot of people.

We automatically assume that when we arrive, the potential clients are going to tell us everything that is wrong: Well, my wife’s sister came over last week, spent the night, and got hair stuck in the drain…Could you PLEASE unclog it?!

Or, that if we tell them everything that is wrong, they will think we are smart and will want to do business with us: OMG! Your server closet looks like my Aunt Marie’s house after the tornado last year, you have no security to speak of, and Sam the security guard in the corner sleeping does not count…Sign here please!

Or, finally, we try and talk to them in our version of just the facts: You’re going to get hacked and lose your whole business. The Hacker Venus will come down from Mount Darkness and take everything from you! You will have to pay fines, fire your employees who will make you explain to their children why it happened, and move because everyone will hate you!

Somehow, we wonder why we are not closing more business! It must be the crappy marketing company I hired. I mean, we got the lead and we met with them; they just don’t understand how important what I do is. Obviously, they’re not the right lead. 

Does any of this resonate? I have talked to literally thousands of MSPs in my career in the channel and all of these are true scenarios I have been told time and again. (Well, without the exaggerations).

So, Mr. Know-It-All! How do I fix this?

You use Discovery Questions! 

What is a discovery question you ask? It is a question designed to make the client think about things in a certain way, allowing them to open up and give you important information in their own words that will allow you to understand what THEY truly think is going on, or what they think the problem is. You can also use “leading” discovery questions to get them to think about things that they have not thought about before. 

Ex: Why me and why now?

It seems silly to ask, right? But why? They either called you or accepted your appointment. That is great; you are now in front of them and do you really think they are going to sit you down and explain exactly why you are there? Or, are they expecting YOU to lead the conversation?

This question does exactly that. Why did they want to or agree to see you? I mean it was not because you promised them warm chocolate chip cookies, though I would not mind some of them right now and, if you did, I will make an appointment with you.

You should listen carefully to their answer to this question. It will give you a whole bunch of information to ask other questions to dig deeper. 

Remember to take good notes and create questions for follow-up while they are talking. 

So that is question number one. How about a “leading” discovery question?

A “leading” discovery question is just that. It is designed to lead someone down a particular path and give you their thoughts on a particular subject in a particular way. It also can plant a seed about a topic that the potential clients had never thought about.

Ex: What is your current MSP doing to proactively keep you safe from cyber threats?
Ex: During your last QBR with your MSP, what were your three biggest takeaways?

These questions are designed to put thoughts in their head about things where their current MSP may be dropping the ball, or get you critical information on how the other MSP does their business and communicates with their client. It will also give you an idea of how knowledgeable the business owner you are talking to is about their IT processes and systems.

Remember good discovery questions should make a current or prospective client think about something in a certain way and allow them to be able to give a free form answer and not one that is just one word. 

There are also follow on questions. Follow on questions are something you ask after someone is done answering your first question and you want to dive a little deeper.

Ex: What would that look like?
Ex: How would that make you feel?

Sometimes, it could be as simple as saying “or”? “and”? 

You must always listen to the answers carefully and, where necessary, dig down with a follow-up question to get more details. Anything that allows you to keep them digging down on what they were talking about. The idea is to get to how they FEEL about something. That is when it is emotional and when someone is truly open to change. You must lead them there, NOT push them. 

There are a ton of other discovery questions for different types of potential clients, services, etc. Start by writing down some simple ones in a journal and using them. Keep the ones that gave you valuable information, reword ones that gave you only some of the information you wanted, so they work better for the next time, add to them based on a particular service or type of client, or get rid of a question because it sucked! 

You will find over time that you will get better and better at it, your questions will be fine-tuned to get you the answers you want every time, and you will have a tried-and-true methodology you can pass on to others who will sell for you or with you in the future. Who knows, maybe you will write a book and I will want an autograph! 

See, sales can be fun! Not as fun as driving a brand-new Ferrari on a racetrack at 300MPH, but… Make it a game, who on your staff can come up with the best question to ask that gets the most information in one go without the need for a follow up question, and then I get a gift card…oops…they do.

Also, you do not have to try to remember all the questions. Write them down on the page where you’re going to take notes, so you don’t forget to ask them. Professional does NOT equal memorized. Professional equals do I ask intelligent questions and make the client feel comfortable.

Finally, did you notice something? Besides the fact that you read this without having to run to the bathroom, none of these questions were TECHNICAL, all were BUSINESS based. Do NOT talk in technical terms with a business owner, they will glaze over like a Krispy Kreme Donut when the hot doughnut light is on and disappear mentally as quickly as a dozen fresh donuts in my friend’s car at 3AM on the way home on a Saturday night. 

If you have questions, feel free to reach out. Partnership is truly a two-way street and we want to help you be successful, NOT just buy our software.