Guidelines for High-Value Questions

The basic concept of high-value questions referred to here is the four Ws, H, and T qualifying process.

Who, what, when, where, but never why. Why questions put customers on the defensive. Think of it this way: All small children ask, “Why?”—16,000 layers of “why.” Also, children are chastised with, “Why did you do that?” “Why can’t you get it right?” It is too often used in an accusative way. It’s an annoying question, so as adults we are resistant to responding to why questions.

Good W questions may include:

  • When is the ideal time for implementation?”

  • What departments are involved during installation?”

  • Who is going to be using the product at your company?”

  • Where are you planning on storing the extra stock?” ...

Get Selling to Anyone Over the Phone now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.