--- tags: A2, 02, Prospecting --- # 2. Conversation: Asking great questions Ok, so you successfully engaged your prospect, got permission to give your value pitch and asked your first explorative question. 💪 Congratulations! You have entered the conversation phase of a cold call ![](https://i.imgur.com/s8ATJxK.png) &nbsp; ## **Conversation phase** Your objective during the conversation phase is to explore the person's needs and problems by asking great, relevant questions... before you try to close a discovery call. ::: info **🥅 Objectives of a cold call** - [ ] Does the person have a pain you can help address with your product/service? If yes... 👇 - [ ] Are they the right person to talk to? If not, who is? If they are..👇 - [ ] **Schedule a qualified sales conversation - a "discovery call" - to progress to the next stage in the sales process** ::: By asking great questions, you want to find out if the person has a need worth solving. Once you do, you try to close a discovery call. &nbsp; ### What are great questions? The key here is to enagge the prospect and let the conversation flow. Listen to the replies your prospect gives you, and try to ask relevant questions in return that give you information on the person's needs and whether you can help. Some ideas 👇 * [Mr. Last Name], we see a lot of companies struggle with ABC. How do you currently handle ABC? * What are your current major challenges regarding ABC? * How does challenge ABC impact you? * Would [solution XYZ] help with challenge ABC? &nbsp; ### Remember the 90/10 rule We know that we are repeating ourselves, but we cannot stress this enough: **during this part of the conversation you want to focus listening and learning. Remember the flipped 90/10 rule: for this part, you want your prospect to do 90 of the talking.** During the conversation part of the call, you want to ask great questions and listen, not pitch how great your product is. &nbsp; ### When should I move to closing phase? As soon as you: - [x] Are sure that the prospect has a need you can help with - [x] You feel they are engaged and open to hearing more There will come a point where you have asked 3 or 4 questions and you start feeling your customer is engaged. At this point, if you have already sure your prospect has a need you can solve, it's time to enter the closing stage by offering to have that discovery call as next step. &nbsp; ### How long should a cold call be? We get this question a lot from our students. The short answer: as long as it takes to figure out if the prospect has a need worth solving and secure that next meeting. If you find out they don't really have a problem you can solve, don't waste your time pitching them. You have successfully disqualified this contact as potential customer knowing you can move on and focus on others. If you do, keep chatting until you're able to close the discovery call as the next step. &nbsp; ### What if they ask to do the discovery call there and then? Although it's rare, sometimes this happens. Should your contact have a problem and tell you they have 20 minutes to have the discovery call right there and now: take it! &nbsp; ### 🤔 And what if they object? Let's face it, you're going to have to deal with objections more often than not! The vast majority of objections heard during prospecting are knee-jerk reactions from busy people who don't yet see the value in working with you. We see how to handle them in the next lesson. <style> body > .ui-infobar, body > .ui-toc, body > .ui-affix-toc, body > .ui-community, body > .document-footer { display: none !important; } </style>