Stop Pitching, Start Asking
Forty practical ideas to move from talking about your product to discovering what your customer truly needs.
Questions sell better than speeches. Understanding comes before persuasion.
40 tips that really help
These ideas come from SPIN Selling, Gap Selling, the Sandler approach and real practice. The first six give you the biggest shift. Pick one and try it today.
Questions beat speeches
Customers care about their problems more than your product. Questions show you care too.
Replace your next pitch with three questions.
Neil Rackham's big finding
Neil Rackham’s research behind SPIN Selling found that top sellers ask more of the right questions in larger sales.
Count how many questions you ask on your next call.
Talk less, learn more
Aim for the customer to speak most of the time.
Track your talk time on one call.
Start with their situation
Learn the basics so you know where to go next.
Write three situation questions.
Find the problem
A problem is where a sale begins.
Ask, “What is the biggest challenge right now?”
Explore the effect
Help them see how a problem touches money, time and people.
Ask, “How does that affect your team?”
Describe the benefit together
Let them say what a solution would mean.
Ask, “What would solving that do for you?”
Keep a question bank
Having good questions ready helps you stay calm.
Write ten questions for your next call.
Ask open questions
Start with what, how and why for richer answers.
Change one closed question into an open one.
Avoid leading questions
Asking “Don’t you agree?” feels pushy.
Remove one leading question from your script.
Ask one question at a time
Stacked questions confuse people.
Ask a question, then wait.
Wait after you ask
Silence invites a fuller answer.
Count to four after each question.
Follow the thread
Ask a follow-up about what they just said.
Use “tell me more about that” once.
Ask why it matters
The reason behind a request is the real need.
Ask, “Why is that important to you?”
Find the hidden problem
The first problem named is rarely the biggest.
Ask, “What else is behind that?”
Ask about the cost of waiting
Doing nothing has a cost. Help them see it.
Ask, “What happens if nothing changes?”
Keenan on gaps
Gap selling, popularised by Keenan, focuses on the gap between where the customer is and where they want to be.
Write the gap for one customer.
Ask about the past
What they tried before shows what they want and fear.
Ask, “What have you tried so far?”
Ask about the future
A clear picture of success guides your proposal.
Ask, “What would success look like?”
Ask about the buying process
Knowing who decides saves time.
Ask, “Who else will be involved?”
Ask about timing
Learn the deadline that matters.
Ask, “When do you need this solved?”
Ask about budget gently
Frame it as planning, not pressure.
Ask, “What range have you set aside?”
Summarise what you heard
A short recap proves you listened.
Say, “So the main issue is…”
Check you got it right
Ask, “Did I understand that correctly?”
Use this check after each topic.
Take notes
Notes show care and help you remember.
Note three customer quotes.
Use their words back
Repeating their phrases builds trust.
Use one customer phrase in your reply.
Prepare, but do not read
A list helps, but eye contact matters more.
Memorise your top three questions.
Set the agenda up front
Say what you will cover and ask if it works.
Start a call with “Here is what I suggest.”
Do not pitch too early
Hold your solution until you understand the need.
Delay your pitch by five minutes.
Pitch only what fits
Show features that match their problem.
Choose three features that match a need.
Sandler on up-front contracts
The Sandler approach teaches agreeing on the meeting’s purpose at the start.
Say, “At the end, we will decide on a next step.”
Let them reach the conclusion
People trust conclusions they reach themselves.
Ask a question that helps them see the answer.
Respect their time
Good questions are efficient.
Cut one unnecessary question.
Be curious about people
Real interest shows in your tone.
Ask a question you do not know the answer to.
Avoid interrogation
Mix questions with reactions to keep it human.
React with “That makes sense” between questions.
Role-play your questions
Practise aloud with a colleague.
Do a five-minute role-play today.
Review recorded calls
Listen for missed questions.
Review one call and note three ideas.
Teach a colleague
Explaining sharpens your own skill.
Teach one question technique to a friend.
Ask permission to ask questions
Saying “May I ask a few questions so I can help properly?” makes people relaxed and open.
Use this line at the start of your next call.
Start asking now
Begin your next conversation with a great question.
Write your first question before your next call.
Easy things to say
When you are stuck, pick one of these. They work in many sales conversations.
“Can you tell me a bit about how things work today?”
“What happens when that goes wrong?”
“How does that affect your team?”
“What would it mean if that were solved?”
“Did I get that right?”
“Would it help if we looked at options?”
Your first week
One small action a day. Each day is only a little bigger than the last.
Replace one pitch with a question
Ask “why” once
Ask about the cost of a problem
Summarise what you heard
Write five new questions
Practise a question in a role-play
Ask about the next step
Further reading
- SPIN Selling (Neil Rackham)
- Gap Selling (Keenan)
- The Sandler Rules (David Mattson)
The tips above are written in our own words and are general guidance. The books are suggestions for further reading.
More lessons in “Ask Better Questions, Sell More”
Keep going. Small steps every day make a big change.
Next: The 70/30 Rule: Listen More →
- Stop Pitching, Start Asking
- The 70/30 Rule: Listen More
- Curiosity Is a Sales Skill
- Questions Show You Care
- Make Customers Talk About Their World
- Pitch Only After You Understand
- Questions Are Not Interrogations
- Situation Questions Without Boring People
- Problem Questions That Find the Pain
- Implication Questions That Show the Cost
- Need-Payoff Questions That Spark Desire
- Build a SPIN Question Bank
- Use SPIN on a Small Sale
- Common SPIN Mistakes
- Ask "Why Is That Important?"
- The Power of "Tell Me More"
- Find the Hidden Problem Behind the Problem
- Ask About the Cost of Doing Nothing
- Ask About Feelings, Not Just Facts
- Turn One Answer Into Three Questions
- The Pause That Gets the Truth
- Who Decides and Who Influences?
- How Do They Buy Today?
- What Does Success Look Like to Them?
- Find Their Budget Without Awkwardness
- Discover Their Deadline
- Ask About Past Experiences With Sellers
- Find Out What They Tried Before
- Research Before You Ask
- Write Your Top Five Questions
- Set the Agenda Together
- Take Notes Without Losing Eye Contact
- Summarise What You Heard
- End With a Clear Next Step
- Great Questions for Phone Calls
- Questions to Use in Email
- Questions for a Group Meeting
- Questions for Small Customers
- Questions for Big Customers
- Questions That Win Repeat Business
