JERRY ACUFF – sales and marketing author
After reading Paul Cherry’s QUESTIONS THAT SELL: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants, you will have a whole new view of the role of questions. It uncovers Paul’s insights and methodology for navigating the complete sales process. Listening is a skill and an art fundamental to business success. By focusing on customer needs and honing in on what motivates them, you will learn to lead a conversation to a fruitful outcome through the use of targeted questions. It will take your sales conversations with customers and prospects to a whole new level of engagement.
QUESTIONS THAT SELL made it to BookAuthority’s Best Sales Books of All Time. Bookauthority serves millions of book recommendations every month, and it is a great honor to get this kind of recognition.
I loved how this book got me thinking about how to connect with my customers better. It is still a work in progress, but when you pull it off right, you can tell it worked with the customer’s enthusiasm for having talked to you. Great audio book. Thank you, Mr. Cherry.
BY ANDREW
he best question based selling book I have read. Paul is spot on and not only shares what questions not to ask prematurely (e.g. BANT) but shows you why they don’t work; and then he demonstrates how to reframe them to get though the selling cycle with greater success. Great insights Paul. You have truly been there, done that! Thank you.
BY STEVE HORAN
(SALES MIND INSTITUTE)
Every author of a sale book talks about asking questions to build relationship, find out what your clients needs are and qualify your client. Questions that sell explains how to formulate those questions and how to ask them in the best manner possible. I would highly recommend it for any sales professional.
BY JIM
This book is an excellent resource and it’s taking the best parts of Spin Selling and The Wedge and combining it into this book. I also picked up the audible version as well!
BY JOSEPH A. TWELVES
Paul really makes me want to be better and perform better in my role as a professional sales executive. The content of his book covers the sales cycle in a variety of situations, form start to finish. If you think you still know it all after reading this book, why aren’t you independently wealthy? ;)
BY MERRILL B. CRAIG
I found Questions that Sell to be a watershed moment, revealing the deep seeded personal habits that block my true potential.
I state this because asking the right questions allows me to put aside my agenda to be viewed as an expert and desire to be liked. The QTS model proves that a talking prospect is a comfortable prospect. And comfortable prospects open up to share true motivations, needs, and pains.
If your challenge is compulsive talking, storytelling, and a need to prove your value then I wholeheartedly recommend Questions that Sell. After 15 years of professional selling, countless training sessions, and endless coaching; I’ve discovered what I was missing, Question that Sell.
BY AMAZON CUSTOMER
Being a sales professional for over 20 years, I have been exposed to many sales methodologies, some better than others. Paul Cherry and his Questions that Sell is one of the best. Paul has truly developed a technique that brings out the real needs of the customer. This is definitely a resource that I use in my day to day activities that helps me unlock those value-added sales that not only earn me revenue, but make my customers more efficient, and more profitable. Paul is also a dynamic and entertaining speaker. If you get a chance to hear him in person, jump at it!
BY LOREN R.
The one book to read and study if you truly want to know who your customer is. This is a great book to help sales people learn how to win over their customers and an even better book for helping companies particularly their inside sales people on how to turn their customers into customers for life. Creating a customer-focused company is all about knowing everything possible about your customers and the best way to find out everything about your customers is to ask them.
Author Paul Cherry who is President and CEO of one of the country’s foremost sales and leadership training organization shows his complete mastery the art of the question in this book. He focused not only on the right questions to ask in the appropriate situations but also how to ask those questions, the right time, the right place and even the right pace of questioning. He makes us realized that questioning is an art, a craft that must be studied and perfected. Have you ever been in any of these situations?
Besides demonstrating to the reader how to handle these situations and many more, the author also provides lists of actual questions designed to help you develop your on line of questioning for all of these situations and many more. In fact, just about every situation you can come up against.
Basically, everything you need know about asking questions that not only help you sell but more importantly develop a long-lasting and productive relationship with your customers is in this book.
I would urge anyone interested in their customers and knowing everything about them should read this book. If you truly want to know who’s your customers, this is the one book you should make sure to buy and read.
BY DANIEL B. BEAULIEUON
This the second edition of a book first published in 2006. In the Preface to this new edition, Paul Cherry asserts that, although throughout the ages salespeople have always faced new challenges, “the fundamentals of sales are timeless.” Indeed, I think the business world today is more volatile, more uncertain, more complex, and more ambiguous than at any prior time that I can recall. However, there are some questions that are also timeless: Who is my customer? Which objectives are of greatest importance to my customer? How can I help my customer to achieve those goals?
By now we also know what buyers want: A seller who is easy to do business with, a product or service that outperforms comparable alternatives, superior customer service, and especially, no hassles. Most buyers resent being “sold” and prefer to be “convinced.” For Cherry, the most important change in the sales environment in recent years, one that defines selling in the twenty-first century is that, for better or worse, “everybody knows everything about everybody.” I agree.
Invoking direct address, Cherry then suggests: “Your true competitive advantage is to be a [begin italics] collector [end italics] of information. The only way to succeed is to know your buyer better — not just what’s posted on their company website or their LinkedIn page, but their hopes, their vision, their fears — the things they reveal only to those they trust. And the only way to get that deep knowledge is by asking the right questions in the right way.”
Buyers have their objectives. So must sellers and, as Cherry thoroughly explains, different types of questions have different objectives. For example, the purpose of an educational question (See Chapter 3) isn’t to [begin italics] gather [end italics] information but to [begin italics] provide [end italics] information.
There really is an art and a science to asking questions but mastering both is only one part of the equation. It is also imperative to master the art and science of listening. That is, “you need to cultivate real, strong relationships with your customers to make certain that their needs are met. This can happen only when you listen to your customers and really hear what they have to say.”
Cherry goes on to make other key points. “There’s something deeply embedded in the human mind that creates a powerful compulsion to answer questions. If someone asks a reasonable question in a reasonable way, and for reasonable reasons, it’s almost unthinkable to refuse to answer. It would be seen as a rude, almost antisocial act.”
Paul Cherry would be the first to point out that his modification of the Socratic method of inquiry must be mastered with meticulous care. Otherwise, it can result in irreparable damage to a relationship with a prospective buyer. With all due respect to the questions themselves, it is also imperative to be aware of the power of non-verbal communication. More often than not, what you say is less important than how you say it with your tone of voice and body language. Master the skills examined in this book and can sell a product or service, of course, but also an Idea.
In fact, I want to re-word that last sentence: Master the skills in this book and you can [begin italics] persuade [end italics]…you get the idea. Read the book and then apply what you learn from it.
BY ROBERT MORRIS
I read Paul Cherry’s first edition. I got so much out of the first book that I was even more surprised how much I discovered in his second edition of Questions that Sell. The book really makes you think about how you need to rephrase your questions to make them more engaging and to stretch the customer’s thought process. Gain more insight in your customers’ personal issues, professional goals, corporate objectives, market trends, competitive threats, their customers, industry trends and more. Even when you think you have good established relationships, Questions that Sell makes you realize the need to solidify these relationships even more. Paul Cherry gets into the lock on process which is all about listening. Listening is a lost art and yet it’s the most basic yet powerful approach to understanding your customers’ values, beliefs, motivations and aspirations. Paul demonstrates how to listen for key words, especially the trigger words that elicit emotions so you can develop a more meaningful connection with your customers. What I really like is that Questions that Sell will give you the tools to have much more meaningful, rewarding and fulfilling customer conversations and to take your relationships to a much higher level.
Questions that Sell will give you the edge to set you apart from your competition because you really are adding value each and every time you engage your customers. I am looking forward to reading this book again and again until the concepts become a natural part of my sales repertoire.
BY CLAIRE D. DASALLA
This book was so helpful. I wish I could give 10 stars instead of five. Being new to a sales industry, I have read countless sales books, but this book was by far the best book I have ever read.
BY SIHUI KIMON
In the first chapter, the author wrote, “A true business relationship requires you to ascertain a customer’s visions, desires, fears and motivations, and that means asking good questions that engage and to channel that energy into action. In this kind of relationship, you as the salesperson are not solely concerned about making money or closing the deal; rather, you want to help the customer in three key ways.
Asking better questions will:
If you buy in the above, this book is for you. Using it’s 3-Step Qualifying Process and 4-Step Objection Handling Process, and the many sample educational questions, comparison questions, expansion questions and lock-on questions provided, you can better uncover your clients’ needs and wants, thus increase your chance of success. A great toolkit for any sales professionals! Highly recommended!
p.s. Below please find a few favorite passages of mine for your reference.
Was it beginner’s luck? I doubt it. It was more likely that he had no assumptions about his client, her problems, or the product. Instead, his curiosity forced him to ask questions that experienced salespeople would have skipped over because they assumed they already knew the answers. Pg 23 The Qualifying process: 1. Agree 2. Clarify 3. Legitimize
The Objection handling process: 1. Find a point of agreement 2. Offer a question to clarify 3. Educate the customer 4. Secure a commitment
BY SERVANTOFGOD
Great
BY JOLENE FREDETTE
This book was a great investment for my sales career. It really drills down to specific questions and scenarios to help you better understand the craft of asking questions that sell. I use most of the techniques on a daily basis, in person and on the phone. I would highly recommend this book for new and seasoned sales people.
BY ANONYMOUS
I don’t normally reach out and comment but having started and developed two very successful business I must say I was quite impressed with your book ” Questions that Sell”. Having sold B to B for over 25 years this is one of the most spot on scripts of information for a successful sales process. I make it a habit to read two books a month and I have lots to compare it with. Congrats on a well thought out and useful tool.
BYERIC
Loved it! great read!
BY TOUSUE VANGON
Great content. Easy to start using on Day One!
BY L. MANNON
This book lay out the fundamental method on how to ask quality questions that help you gathering more information from clients and help to build a good rapport faster.
BY JACKY YIU
(HONG KONG)
I interviewed for sales job in Chicago and this is the main book they recommended. Every sales professional should have a copy of this book to help make more sales.
BY D. KAISER "STARVING WRITER, PHOTOGRAPHER"
(CRYSTAL RIVER, FLA.)
It is wonderful ebook to read i really love it and good material given by author. Very useful for normal people.
Thank You.
BY AMISH A. PARMAR
Hi Paul: Send me Questions that get Results. I have been in the car business for 46 years and G-d willing another 46. “You are the Best”. Willie Gale, Zig Ziggler, Jackie Cooper are great, but you are the greatest. We bought your Questions that sell and it is almost worn out. I bought three more this evening of that book.
BY JONATHAN HURCHANIK
(FROM THE ISLAND OF GUAM)
As many times as I have visited Amazon’s website and seen this book, I still can’t believe I didn’t buy it before now. I’m used to reading material by Zig Ziglar & Brian Tracy, but this book is on a Whole New Level all by itself. I now understand the Purpose of asking certain questions, When to ask these questions, and How to ask them. Zig & Brian give you a lot of information about the selling process. Questions That Sell empowers you to ask questions that keep you constantly in control of the selling process, from start to finish. No more guessing about what to say, or if you’re saying the right thing. If you buy this book, I can guarantee you that you will have Complete Confidence that the questions you ask will lead into a sale!!!
BY C. R. LEWIS "NEWTWIST"
(MADISON, MS)
I am always looking to sharpen the saw and add engaging questions to my repertoire. This is a great find.
BY AMAZON CUSTOMER
Paul this is just one of the best books I read on sales. I love it because I truly believe in question based selling and feel like I could have written this book. I agreed with everything you wrote and love it. It just organizes what I have been practicing all my career in sales and helps me teach it. Thank you for such a great book.
BY BOOK BUYER
(SACRAMENTO, CA)
This book articulates the art of qualifying customers extremely well. This isn’t a book to just “pep you up.” It’s book that will enhance your technical skills.!
BY J SIZZLE
Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants My first experience with Paul Cherry was at a regional sales meeting in my previous career. My manager at the time hired Paul to work with the sales team. This was a real eye opener for me as I was always a feature/benefit type of sales person. I was successful. However, I quickly “burnt out” as my belief of a successful sales person was about forming relationships with customers. This notion of cultivating personal relationships with with a price; eventually it consumed my life and eroded my health.
As we all know, relationships are important, but creating a framework of questions will help you tap into your customers’ needs and desires for the future, maintain control of the conversation, and your customer will voluntarily open up about their issues and the value of your service/product.
I have hired Paul on a few occasions to assist me with a career transition and successfully navigate through a new company culture, more specifically a start up company that did not include expectations, goals or an orientation. Paul worked with me on creating sales presentations. He also strategized with me prior to sales meetings and gave me the CONFIDENCE to put in action the techniques in his books. His personal coaching is affordable and I felt that Paul really cared about me and my success. Feel free to email me for a personal reference annaprice206@gmail.com
BY ANNA PRICE
My copy of QUESTIONS THAT SELL is getting dog-eared. I re-read sections of it whenever I am preparing for an important meeting with a prospective client, and then I sit down and plan questions for my meeting. I have heard before that most salespeople talk too much, and now with this book I understand much better what to do instead. The book’s explanations, examples, and stories make it all seem intuitively obvious, and yet I find that I fall back into old habits easily; referring frequently to the book helps me on my learning curve. I especially like the appendix, “Seeing the Plan in Action,” that shows the flow of the whole process and serves as an overview of the various types of questions and when to use them; it’s also a reminder of the persistence needed to really understand a client’s needs. I have found the book so useful that I have recommended it to colleagues and brought Paul in to work with my team; we all benefited. The book is clear and well-written, and I am grateful to Paul Cherry for writing it.
BY SHEELLA MIERSON
Great information is vital to the success of all salespeople. All pertinent information is available to you if you learn how to get it from your qualified prospect. Learning to structure questions will make your sales significantly easier.
That is what this book will do for you. Take prospects into the past or future. Eliminate ambiguity. Create a sense of urgency. Engage emotions and much more!It’s easy when you know HOW!
This is sales in the 21st century. This book is a great investment in your future. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
BY RONALD CELLA “RONC813”
(PA)
This is very practical book, with many examples and plenty of advice you can use right away!!
I’m a B2B sales professional since 2005 and I strive to continuously improve myself by learning from others, and by reading sales books and blogs. Initially the title and layout of the book didn’t really appeal to me. Due to this, I read many other sales books, before reading this one. How wrong was I ! Paul Cherry really surprised me in a good way.
This book has instantly made it into my list of TOP sales books. A MUST READ for every salesperson !!
Questions that Sell is a great resource that I encourage any sales professional to add to their tool kit.
BY ASTRID DOM
(BELGIUM)
Paul Cherry’s book Questions that Sell is an outstanding book for the sales professional that wants to sharpen their game. In today’s economy every sales professional needs to get the most value out of every sales call and this book can help. There are a number of example questions that are useful in moving the business forward. You don’t have to memorize the questions, but practice making them your own and incorporating a few into your next sales call and discover the depth that you can take your sales relationship.
The book’s greatest value is in using it as a resource for ideas when prospecting a client. I found the thee-step qualifying process (figure 3-1 in the book) to be a helpful reference in coaching sales team members on handling clients that vague in their responses.
LEONARD D COCHRAN
As someone new to sales, I have been a sponge for anything that I feel will help me improve my skills. But I still wasn’t feeling it. Sure, I am nice. I am friendly. But, Paul makes it so clear that it is ALL ABOUT BEING HELPFUL! Maybe anyone can schmooze — but not anyone can sell (UNLESS you are coached by the likes of Paul). In chapter 1, I saw myself (Yuck). By chapter 2, I knew who I wanted to become. Through the rest of the book, I learned how. I immediately started applying questions and concepts I learned. My confidence soared! As did not connectivity and helpfulness. I became a consultant and confidante. There is something magical about asking “What’ll it take…?” GREAT BOOK FOR SALES BEGINNERS. My more experienced team members noticed the results and took heed, too!! To be frank, I learned how to shut up and listen!
BY KELLY
It’s amazing…the adage “It may be common sense, but not common knowledge” really applies to me and my sales team. We were struggling to find the right way to approach future clients. We knew that our product and services we the best in the market and that our customers could benefit from doing business with us. What we didn’t know was how to approach them professionally and tactfully to get them to trust us enough to share their pain and needs. We knew the old school tactics of using tie-downs, nail-downs, and constantly maneuvering for the close by overcoming objections would not work and was fundamentally against our business philosophy. We needed a structured approach that was in-line with our company’s values and mission. Paul’s book “Questions That Sell” was just that! It was so obvious and so natural! We have been using his insights along with Jill Konrath’s “SNAP Selling” and WOW! What a difference. We have had a 60% increase in call backs, referrals from happy clients up 200%, and moral is way up in just 3 weeks!! We see ourselves now as team of business consultants who happen to have products and services as part of our offerings. I am looking forward to reading Paul’s other book, “Questions That Get Results.”
BY B. L. HUNNEWELL
I have not just read Paul’s book, I have made a study of it. I have been successfully selling software systems and services professionally for over 30 years but this has helped me greatly. This is a book worthy of your time and study. The concepts that Paul outlines work and work well. I found the book on Amazon after reading Neil Rackham’s book “Spin Selling” (another must read). I read it on a flight to Dubai where I had a high level meeting involving a multi million dollar sales opportunity. I was so impressed that I spent several hours before my meeting planning the questions, in sequence, that I would ask. I then implemented my plan in the meeting. The style and sequence of questioning made this undoubtedly the most powerful high level sales meeting I have ever conducted. It totally won over the prospects and placed me at the forefront. If you are seeking to truly win over your prospect, have them see you as a peer and develop a good professional relationship (and win the sale) then this book is for you. But don’st just read it and put it down. Practice what he teaches and internalize it. It will be worth millions to you. I then gave a copy of the book to our Chief of Sales (another highly successful sales person) who found it so compelling he, in turn, gave a copy to our entire national sales force and then hired Paul to give a one day seminar at one of our conferences. I could not recommend this book higher to anyone who is seriously interested in professional selling and being more successful.
BY DMALPINE
After starting a new sales position, I wanted to brush up on my selling skills, so I bought this book along with several other sales books (The New Strategic Selling, Selling to Vito, Selling to Big Companies, Major Account Sales Strategy). I found the other books to be heavy on theory and light on useful examples. It felt like their authors were trying to whet my appetite just enough to get me to sign up for a workshop, but not enough to give away their secrets. For example, all of us in sales *know* that we’re supposed to try and meet with everyone in the enterprise who influences the buying decision, but what, specifically, can I say when the gatekeeper doesn’t give me access? And once I get the meeting, what do I talk about? And in the negotiation, I *know* I’m supposed to focus on value, but how exactly do I do this? What do I say and how can I best word it?
This is exactly what I get out of this book. Sure, there’s a bit of theory, but the book is chock full of tons of useful questions to ask at different points in the sales cycle, like: – Are there people in your company who will resist this change?
And the book is very easy to reference, as the questions are organized well and the questions bulleted so they’re easy to find. That’s why the book is now a permanent fixture on my desk.
I think that in time, the questions will come naturally to me, but for now, I go through the book before calls/meetings with prospects and write down the questions I want to cover. So far, the questions have worked well for me. There was even a case where the prospect responded with, “These are good questions you’re asking, but I’m not the right one. Perhaps when you come on-site you can discuss these with our CEO.” It reminded me of a “theory” another book once taught me, which is that if you talk like a C-Level executive, you will be more readily invited to meet with the C-Level executive.
BY N. LEDWON
(WASHINGTON, DC)
We are an IT Sales and Marketing outsourcing company so we have a very focused sales culture already. Some of the elegant and intelligent questions I have found in your book have really helped us to step up a gear in terms of the value we deliver to our clients.
A recent example of this is a sale that was stalled because a particular customer was evaluating 3 solutions (ours plus 2 competitors) The competitors were heavily discounting on the prospect was asking us to do the same. As is his right if he can get a better deal. We’d already cut the margin heavily anyway. We asked the customer his decision making criteria, how we are faring against those compared to the competitors and he says that all the solutions meet the technical criteria so it’s all about the price. Therefore give me a better price.
That had everyone stumped! How do we move the sale forward from there:
I was re-reading your book (for the 4th time!!) and came across this question:
“I was just wondering then, if we all offered the same price how would you make the decision?”
Bam, the customer tells us exactly what are the real emotional criteria we need to hit. Then we ask him how we show him that – what evidence he needs. We email that evidence and end up winning the deal.
BY VINCENT
A must read for anyone in sales. Questions are the key to sales success and “Questions That Sell” provides the guidance as to how to ask questions and which questions to ask at different stages of the sales process! I highly recommend this book!
BY ROSS
I thank Jill Konrath for recommending this work by Paul Cherry in her book “Selling to Big Companies”. When it comes to needs assessment and consultative selling, most sales representatives stumble on what questions to ask to uncover the information. We used “Questions that Sell” as a platform in our employee training workshops to help sales representatives shape “Need Assessment Questionnaires” that tailor questions to uncover pain points that our products can satisfy. This is one of the better books out there on this subject.
BY CRUNCHWORM
(GREENSBORO, NC)
I am a commercial real estate broker who just entered his 4th year in the business in Philadelphia. They teach you how to sell real estate at the firm, but what they don’t teach you is how to sell potential tenants, buyers and investors. This book gave me an arsenal of questions, phrases and nuggets to use during my cold calls, meetings, and above all else, getting past the gate keeper. Would you go to a gun fight with just a knife? Read this book, be prepared to ask the right questions at the right time. You can thank me for the recommendation and the author for writing this great sales tool.
BY JERSEY JOSH
Out of the three books on question based selling I bought at Amazon (“The Secrets of Question Based Selling” of Thomas Freese and “Open Question Selling” of Val Gee & Jeff Gee) this book stands with head and shoulders above the others. Questions that Sell is by far one of the most useful and valuable additions to my library on sales and business development. I wholeheartedly recommend reading this.
BY JOHN DOE “PDA”
Questions that Sell is a book that provides terrific insight on how to ask great questions. The author made me realize that many of my questions are not very effective, and I’ve been selling for over 10 years.
He explains that the key to building and sustaining important client relationships begins and ends with asking great questions. The book provides lots of great examples and stories to make it an enjoyable read.
Some things I think others will find valuable about Questions that Sell. Read the chapter on lock ons. You can really understand the art of listening and how to decipher the meaning in the customer’s words by following up with another tactical question. The lock on is an effective question to dig for clarity and to qualify if there is a legitimate opportunity. A lot of times customers don’t want to tell you the word “no” or prefer to lead you on but never buy from you. The lock on allows you to find out now and not later. I’m looking forward to practicing the lock on to better manage my time and focus on customers who want to do business with me vs the “tire-kickers” who just want me to call on them to give free advice.
I also found the chapter on asking expansion questions where you begin your question with “describe, tell me, take me through, help me to understand…” very effective. I tried a few and they work. Getting the customer to do most of the talking on the sales call is the goal. You are bound to identify a key opportunity to sell to.
Asking great questions allows you to differentiate yourself from others and become a valuable partner to your customers. I’m going to read the book again. That’s how much I enjoyed it.
BY CLARK DASALLA “SALES CONSULTANT”
(WILMINGTON DE)
Buy this book. It is amazing. Its not slow and sluggish like many you might pick up that get a good review here and there. This guy is amazing, and it will boost your sales.
Read it from cover to cover in the shortest amount of time I have ever read any book. After I finished this book and began the next…I wished I was back reading “Questions That Sell.” Amazing. It was funny to see a few typos, I thought they had those things master minded through English scholars etc. Anyhow. Great Read. Great buy. Got if for less than $10.00. One of my all time favorites.
This book will help in any sales profession. I work for an attorneys office, and real estate on the side, and this book is number 1!!
BY SANDRA BARTON
After 30 years in Engineering I decided to finish out my career in sales. It’s a fantastic opportunity but I have a lot to learn. This book caught my eye and it turned out to read like a good novel. The format and style build upon themselves in a logical and methodical way and you end up with a lot of great ideas. Cherry obviously has done a lot of research and has obviously walked the talk as many common situations are addressed and resolved. It is excellent training and wisdom for the beginner and veteran alike. You’ll want to keep this book as a reference and multiple re-read.
BY D. BELL “DODGER FAN”
(COVINA, CA)
I think the question oriented approach to selling is good. I enjoy books that discuss better ways to sell in this way, including this one.
BY LATE NIGHT “BIZ READER”
Most of the comments there already says all – it’s definitely a mega weapon in sales manager hands, what author gives, and book can be read and re-read again, there are lot of examples, situations analyzed – just great.
Just one thing I wanted specially note: THANK YOU, to author, who were the first (at least I saw), who explained how to react on the answer: “Yeah, buddy all’s great with ya offer, but your price is 2 times higher than all other vendors.” Thanks!
BY ROLANDS PETREVICS
TAIWAN.TYPEPAD.COM (TAIWAN)
I have written 3 sales books and I believe Paul Cherry has written as good a book on questioning as I have ever seen. He takes asking questions to a new level and we recommend it to all of our clients. I have read it twice and I plan to read it over and over. If you believe that by asking better questions you will be more effective in selling then this book you have to read. You won’t get one idea about a great question you will get 20. We believe that effective selling demands that as sales people we provoke thought when we interact with our customers or prospects and questioning is the best way to do that. Paul Cherry shows you exactly how to ask questions that engender thinking. An absolute terrific sales book.
BY GERALD J. ACUFF
Finally, a sales guide that gets right to the point. I’ve read so many of these sales and marketing texts that lead the reader through a series of generalized statement such as “get to understand your clients needs” or “know who buys your products”. These are pretty obvious statements in my mind. Of course, getting to know my customer’s needs are going to help my business. It only makes sense that I will sell more if people actually need what I am selling. But how do I find out who my customers are, what is really important to them, and most importantly how do I get them to buy from me rather than from my competitors?
Questions That Sell is the answer. This book gives detailed examples of real questions to use to engage a potential client so that you can actually find out what they need, what their current problems with your competitor are, and how willing they would be to buy your product. I particularly liked the sections on how to determine whether the individual talking to you really wants you to phone back tomorrow or if he or she is just trying to let you down easy, how to determine if you are talking to someone who can actually make a buying decision, and ways to move along clients wanting to sit on the fence.
BY DR. TAMI BRADY “WHOLE HEALTH THERAPIST”
(CALGARY, CANADA)
After finishing this book, I committed to practicing his concepts for three months. Wow! My income increased 30% the following three months. That was $25,000 additional commissions in my pocket. His ideas work.
BY BILL KNIEDSEN
(MISSOURI)
Very affordable. Quick read. Great help in training new sales people. It’s always a challenge to get my sales staff to really connect with customers and close a sale. This simple book helps them figure out what to say, or what to ask.
BY JR
(SARATOGA, CA)
I read Paul Cherry’s book in one sitting, enthralled by the advice therein. I was really challenged by one particular prospect who just wouldn’t give me any time. Putting the techniques outlined in Questions That Sell into action, I developed a more effective and more engaging selling style. In fact, not only was this same prospect now open to what I had to say, but he is now one of my most profitable customers to date! I highly recommend Questions That Sell!
BY JACQUELINE M. KEHOE
(PALM CITY, FL)
I was getting some price pressures with this one client who wanted to take their business elsewhere. Using the chapter on dealing with objections and stalls, I was able to get to the real issues troubling the client, and prove the value of my solution. “Questions That Sell” is a great tool to overcome clients’ reservations regarding price.
BY VINNIE BARTILUCCI
(WHITEHALL, PA)
Paul Cherry is the Dr. Phil of sales and leadership training! His excellent book QUESTIONS THAT SELL helps salespeople to get to the heart of clients’ needs by truly getting to know your customers. Cherry’s anecdotes and written exercises teach you to phrase questions in ways that’ll spark meaningful dialogue, encouraging customers to explain in detail what they’re looking for so you can best explain how you can help them. Cherry provides examples of many effective questioning styles, such as the comparison question (for instance, instead of asking your customer, “What do you like about your current system?”, say “Describe for me what you like about your current system versus what you do not like.”), the lock-on question (locking onto a particular point the customer makes; for instance, if your customer says, “We’ve been trying to get this project off the ground for several months,” you may respond, “I noticed you said the word ‘trying.’ What has worked so far and what has not?”), and many more. By reading QUESTIONS THAT SELL, you’ll not only learn how to ask better questions, you’ll learn how to be a better listener, which is equally important in a good customer/vendor relationship. I highly recommend Paul Cherry’s QUESTIONS THAT SELL for anyone who wants to be a more effective salesperson and give customers the best value, not just the best price!
BY DORIAN TENORE
(PHILADELPHIA, PA)
Unlike many books targeted to salespeople, this book is actually enjoyable to read. The stories in the book help to make the strategies put forth by the author come alive. So many other sales books that are out there are boring to read and useless for real life situations. This book stands out because it is well written, creative in its approach and filled with good ideas and suggestions.
BY K. SPARKS
(DELAWARE)
I really liked this book. Lots of great examples on how to get the customer involved. Great resource on how to listen by asking key questions and how to qualify customers. Plus the chapter on minimizing price barriers and how to sell value is well worth reading. You’ll find this book practical and straightforward.
BY JOHN KENNER "JOHN"
(NEW YORK)
A useful, practical guide that offers a new perspective on the use of questions in the sales process. Most people think of questions as a tool for gathering information. Cherry focuses on how good questions can help establish an emotional connection with customers. Sales are made on emotion, not logic, and Cherry shows how salespeople can get customers to open up and talk about what’s truly important to them. I especially liked the technique of the “lock on” question — a question that quickly zeros in on these emotions without making the customer uncomfortable. I employed this technique on a recent sales call and it worked!
BY MICHAEL BOYETTE
(PHILADELPHIA, PA)
This is one of the best sales books I have read thus far! I love how Mr. Cherry takes a step-by-step approach by describing not only what questions to ask, but HOW to ask them and WHEN to ask them during the sales process. I found this book to be very comprehensive and thorough…worth every penny!
BY STELLA
Paul Cherry has been very clever. Many of us have been on countless courses over the years and read numerous books. He has taken a fundamental subject and given new insights. Having read the book I now listen more attentively to the words people use rather than what they say. This attention allows one to ask perceptive questions. I can feel myself trying the techniques in my day to day work. I have recommended this book to many colleagues and friends.
BY JOHN HUDSON GREGORY
(CANADA)
Great book to stimulate your thinking and get you to ask good questions with your customers. In the past I’ve fallen into the trap of asking questions which ends up making the customer feel interrogated. I did all the talking and then the opportunity went nowhere.
I think this book will give you some great ideas on how to reposition your questions so you don’t hit a lot of brick walls but, create new opportunities that gets the customer much more involved in your conversations.
BY SELLING WITH GRACE
(WISCONSIN)
This was a refreshing perspective on creating solid relationships with potential clients. When I first saw the book, I immediately thought that it would be no different than any other sales book I’ve purchased in the past. I was presently surprised. Mr. Cherry does a wonderful job in presenting why the importance of asking the right questions to clients can make or break a deal. I suggest this as a must read for any sales professional that wants to increase their sales and build a larger pipeline of business.
BY DARRYL MONTAGUE
(PHILADELPHIA, PA)
It helped me to understand the power of asking good questions and how I can be in control of the sales process more completely.
I landed a big account that I have been working on for almost a year. I was able to ask the right questions and open doors that had been previously shut.
I found the book insightful and a money maker for me.
I highly recommend this book to increase your sales.
BY PETE COOPERS “TRAINER”
(WEST CHESTER PA)
This is with out a doubt the best book in print that deals specifically with the whole area of incorporating the right questioning techniques. It helped me think out of the box and create the right questions at the right time that will definitely produce results. The great thing is that Paul provides the questions for you, so you don’t have to guess whether or not you are phrasing them correctly. I paid list price for the book at a book store and believe that it is the best investment I have made in my business and myself in a long time. Thank You Paul for your insights, experience and skill.
BY CHARLES CAREY “FOUNDER & CEO COMPENDIUM, INC.”
(BUFORD, GA)
Questions that Sell makes customers think.
If you want to differentiate yourself from everyone else, you have to ask thought provoking questions. Asking better questions gets people to open up, and to share with you their decision making process, criteria and what will motivate them to buy.
I can not believe that after all these years in sales, I have been asking too many mediocre questions. No wonder I have been getting mediocre responses. I’m excited to take my selling to a deeper and more meaningful level with my customers.
This is a must read!
BY ROB PHILLIPSON “SALES MAVEN”
(CALIFORNIA)
I’ve read plenty of sales books on the need to develop customer relationships. But Questions That Sell gives you specific tools on the “how to” and this is what separates this book from all the others.
Questions that Sell gives seasoned pros and those new to sales the skills of asking the right questions at the right time, whether it’s in front of prospects or your most established customers.
One of my biggest frustrations in my field is dealing with prospects who constantly give you the brush off. I call on doctors. They’re busy and won’t give me more than a few seconds.
After reading Questions That Sell, I decided to give the educational question a try which Paul Cherry writes about in one of the chapters.
Wow! After calling on this same guy for months and getting the same old, “I don’t have time”, I asked the educational question and got the doctor to literally stop in his tracks. He then turns around and says, “You know that’s an interesting question you asked and a big issue I am grappling with…” So he then asks me if I have a minute. Can you believe that? The doctor asks me if I have the time to talk. So that one minute turns into a 20 minute dialogue. Best of all, that meeting led to a $25,000 order with plenty more business to come.
Read this book. Whatever type of customer you are calling on, you will greatly benefit. There are plenty of examples on how to engage your customers, so you can create a deeper understanding, uncover their motivating factors on why they should buy, and tap into their frustrations so you can close more business.
I’m actually asking less questions now and getting tons more information, thanks to Questions that Sell.
BY CLAIRE DOMINE
(PHILADELPHIA)
