Book Review: Asking Questions Winning Sales by Stephan Schiffman

I never appreciate a book review that starts off glowing then turns to disdain, or vice versa. Again, a reminder that I am going to rate books on three aspects:

1. Delivery: Writing style, chapter structure, overall flow of concepts, and script examples.
2. Concept: Sales philosophy, concepts of focus, quality of lessons
3. Message: Overall lesson, Alignment of lessons with modern concepts, My opinion on the points made

I will give each of these three sections a rating of 1-10, then give my final thoughts and the overall rating of the book.

Delivery: 5

I want to start by stating that while the score for delivery may seem low, I did like this book. However, the book reads cryptically slow. While Stephan Schiffman has some great views on what he refers to as the interviewing stage, or the second stage of the sale, he does not deliver compelling explanations and powerful scripts to the readers. For some, his great ideas may get lost in the lack of explanation.

While the flow from discussing how to get appointments, through asking calmly for the sale is good he overlooks key parts of talented prospecting, how to manage objection handling, and what data from interviewing is important. He also is really limiting his audience by using examples relating to a face to face meeting. His ideas could translate to telesales with equal effectiveness, but he all but discounts this group by never mentioning them.

Schiffman’s scripts do not jump from the page and sell you on his process. They are a bit dated, and if you do not utilize his confrontational strategies properly, you will not be as successful as he suggests. He warns you in several areas to use caution, but does not train you on how to know when you are ready. One example is when he suggests bluntly asking who else is involved in the decision making process. He suggests asking and then staring at your page. I would recommend not asking this question until you have built some rapport with your prospect. If you have properly built an ally through learning who you are working with, you can just ask and get the information you need.

Concept: 8

Now you will hear a bit about why I REALLY LIKE WHAT SCHIFFMAN HAS TO SAY!

About three years agoI developed a training for my team at WorkMetro. I called it the Who, What, When, Why, and How training. Some of those amazing sales reps read this blog, and can understand when Shiffman presents his six questions why my eyes nearly leapt from their sockets. I am paraphrasing, but here are his six conceptual questions for your prospect, and in my opinion if you can answer these six, you will almost certainly get a sale:

1. What do you do?
2. How do you do it?
3. When do you do it?
4. Who do you do it with?
5. Why do you do it that way?
6. How can we help you do it better?

Again, if you know the answers to these six questions, you can evaluate a situation, overcome any objection, and close sales if they were meant to be closed.

The only thing Schiffman leaves out is a detail as to why you need this data. So, I will some more questions as detail, but turn the questions to you, the sales rep, with some minor advice:

1. What do they do?
Do you understand what the company does overall?
What they do in relation to what you are selling?
What your contact does?
What the people above and below him do?

2. How do they do it?
Do you know the process involved in their day to day?
Do you know the process for purchasing?
The process for what you are looking to improve or replace? (If you cannot improve how they do it, why would they buy from you?

3. When do they do it?
Is there cycle dependent on calendar?
Do they have triggers in sales or inventory that effect their decisions?

4. Who do you do it with?
Are they working with your competition?
Do they do it in house, and is it effective?

5. Why do you do it that way?
BE CAREFUL, I BELIEVE THAT ANY QUESTION THAT STARTS WITH WHY CAN BE CONFRONTATIONAL! IF YOU CAN ELIMINATE WHY FROM YOU QUESTIONS, BUT STILL FIND OUT WHY YOU WILL REMOVE MORE BARRIERS
Do you know the thought process behind how they concluded to do what they do?
Is there a higher level decision maker driving the way they do things now?

6. How can we help you do it better?
This one is self explanatory and as Schiffman states, all you need do is understand the first five and you will have this one on your way to a proposal.

Message: 7

One other fantastic point he makes is about the possible sales you can make in a year. Schiffman states that if you just show up you will get a third of the deals out there, if you present something viable you may get another third, but if you actually interview your prospect, learn about their needs, and only present once that bond and understanding is established, you will close every deal out there. He uses the Olympic Medal winner analogy, that if you read enough books on sales you realize is a common one. His point is strong however, and the underlying message to all sales people. There is only a small difference between the time or score of an Olympic champion and the person who came in second. No one remembers the person that came in second, and you know what, in sales that person does not get a commission.

Overall score: 7

This book is a great read if you can make it throw the boring style. Schiffman delivers some really important advice and everyone from a rookie to a seasoned vet can pull great points from his teachings. I would suggest blazing through the 125 page book in a weekend and taking notes on what jumps out at you. Also, if you get stuck in the writing, jump around and fill in the gaps. Utilizing his advice will definitely improve your sales!

Click on the link to the left to buy this book.

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