3 Sales Questions You Should Always Ask and Answer

You are working with sales to develop a value proposition for a specific prospect. The presentation is going in different directions as the sales and marketing teams suggest different strategies. Some want to talk about product and features; others want to focus on benefits and ROI. The conversation gets tangled and so does the presentation.

One of the most important things to remember when developing client-facing content is to put yourself in the prospect's shoes. What questions are the BUYERS asking themselves? What do THE BUYERS need to know to justify a buy decision?

It's more simple than you might realize because at the end of the day, the prospective buyer needs to know the answer to only 3 QUESTIONS:

1. Why should I buy?
2. Why should I buy from you?
3. Why should I buy NOW?

Wow! 

Now you are asking yourself, "Why didn't I think of that on my own?" No worries. I can't take credit for developing the 3 questions. The concept was passed down to me from a marketing consultant many years ago.

But I can demonstrate how to respond to the 3 questions, and I decided to use my own company and services as real-life example. Note that I've limited my responses to 5 points because that is the most a human being can digest - 3 points is even better.

Why buy marketing consulting services?

So let's pretend that we are the buyer. We sit in her chair. We wear her shoes. Speaking as the buyer, what want to be able to articulate the business problem?

• B2B marketing organizations need to be agile and move quickly. I need a consultant to keep the wheels on the marketing machine especially when priorities and staff requirements change.
• Sometimes I need to fill a temporary gap in headcount. Other times I need specific marketing expertise fast.
• Hiring great team members takes time and if work stops or slows down, the company can loose its competitive edge which can negatively impact my reputation across the company.
• Sales doesn't care if marketing is understaffed or overworked, sales needs leads.
• The company's revenue number is depending on me. 

Why buy McGee Marketing Consulting services?

The answer to this question highlights your differentiators and the responses change depending upon the specific needs of the prospect. Make sure that for any differentiator you mention, you can provide proof to support your claim. This is an example that I recently provided to a technology company that sells B2B insurance software.

• Over 20 years of 'old and new-school' experience as a strategist with the ability to execute and achieve measurable results. 
• Expertise in 'womb to win' integrated marketing (e.g., from GTM plan development through all aspects of marketing and sales execution). 
• Experience across all marketing disciplines in the B2B technology sector. 
• Domain expertise in both the healthcare and insurance segments.
• Innate ability to quickly simulate with your team and achieve success fast.

Why buy now?

This is a very important question - it is the compelling event that has a strong sense of urgency and can only be answered after a discovery session with the prospect. Here are the reasons why clients have engaged with me - again from their point of view.

• I need an expert to put a new set of eyes over our messaging and value proposition NOW.
• I need someone to manage my PR agencies NOW. I'm spending a fortune and need the PR activities integrated with the rest of marketing.
• I am understaffed and need to launch a new product NOW.
• Sales needs more leads NOW and the current demand generation machine isn't working.
• We are a small company, need help with strategy NOW, but not ready to hire a full time VP of Marketing.

I am interested to get your point of view on the "Why buy...Why buy your company...Why buy now" perspective.