The Most Powerful Question in Our English Language
By Linda Stillman, Business Training and Consulting Institute
We’re coached during sales, marketing and negotiation training about how we need to ask more open-ended questions. Of course, the number of good open-ended questions possible with a B2B sales model numbers in the hundreds or more. How can one memorize them all?
Scenario: You’re furiously taking notes while interviewing a prospect when he/she finishes their current response and stops talking. Having been writing, you haven’t had time to formulate a next question but you suspect there’s more to the response that just finished. What do you do?
The biggest excuse why salespeople don’t take notes during a sales conversation is that they say capturing the key information exchanged doesn’t allow for enough time to construct the next logical question. They maintain that it’s better to miss capturing a few business metrics than risk a prolonged silence.
Dilemma: You know to follow the prospect’s remarks with another open-ended question (beginning with: what, when, where, how, or why) but that’s what you haven’t had time to formulate.
Do you know what question can always be used in this scenario ─ always?
Some hints:
+ This question has been labeled the most powerful in English;
+ It's the only open-query without either what, when, where, how, or why;
+ The question is only one word in length;
+ That one word is only two-letters long;
+ You already know it but haven’t recognized its great power;
+ You can even ask it 2-3 times in a row without looking conspicuous.
Once you’ve learned which word this is and which way to pronounce it, you’ll have a new and powerful tool for life. Curious?
Reveal: The mystery question is no secret, it’s: “Oh?” But, not just any “Oh” will suffice. There are actually three pronunciations of “Oh” and only one of them is the most powerful question that you can ask:
+ Signals disappointment and is pronounced “Oh↓”
+ Shows acknowledgement and is pronounced “Oh.”
+ Asks “what else” and is pronounced “Oh↑“
Of course, you want to select choice Number 3 for the most powerful open-ended question in the English language.
Wrapping up our scenario: Your prospect has ended his/her response to your last question, in the process disclosing much valuable information and forcing you to take copious notes to capture it all, and you need another open-ended question to extract any remaining information and buy a few seconds to catch up on your notes.
Just say: “Ohhh↑“ and keep right on writing. It’s easy to do and simple to remember.
Need to do it again? Then, ask it again. Just say: “Ohhhhh↑”
Rule-of-thumb: You can ask “Oh?” three times in a succession of questions and responses without seeming conspicuous.
You need to take one word of caution to heart, however, and it’s not about you or your prospect. The caution is about any colleague whom you might invite to join-in on the conversation. Only brief your colleague about this most powerful question if you know for sure that he/she can maintain a “poker face.” You don’t want any change-in-expression from your colleague that the prospect might notice when you use “Oh?”.
Otherwise, the most powerful question in the English language is simple and easy to execute and its use will allow you to take all of the notes that may be needed. You now know everything about how to use the “Oh?” question to gain improved sales results.
Try it at your next opportunity.
Good selling.
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