The last set of questions is—“When were you considering

making this purchase?” and “What deadlines are you working
with?” Sometimes a salesperson spends half an hour to an hour
with someone, only to find out later that the customer was not
ready to make his purchase for several months. The salesperson
gets upset because he feels that the customer has wasted his
time. However, the salesperson didn’t ask the right questions at
the appropriate time. Asking these questions in the manner pre-
sented here is very different than asking, “So, if we find the right
product are you prepared to buy today?” or “Are you looking to
buy today?” or “What will it take to earn your business today?”
Typically, retailers who use these tie-down questions are con-
cerned only with closing the sale that day, not with establishing
long-term client relationships.

These few questions can help you quickly separate lookers

from buyers generally within two or three minutes. A tire kick-
er will respond to these questions with a quick and flustered,
“I’m really just looking. I’m not planning to buy anything.”
People who do intend to make a purchase will respond with
feedback such as:

• “My spouse. I get to do the homework, narrow it down to a

couple of choices, then bring her/him with me to make a final
decision.”

• “We’ve been to two other stores.”

• “I’ve seen four other models.”

• “We’re doing some comparison shopping.”

• “I need it by next Thursday.”

Most salespeople don’t ask the right questions to distin-

guish a qualified buyer from a looker. By asking a few good,
open-ended questions you can quickly decide if someone is a
qualified prospect.

When my wife and I wanted to purchase a washer and

dryer, we visited four different stores. Not one salesperson
asked us why we were buying a new set, where we had been,

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c h a p t e r f o u r

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Uncovering the Customer’s Needs