Module 9: The Value Selling Approach

Ask Questions to Uncover Pain Points

In order to get your customers talking about the overt and latent pain they are experiencing, you are going to need to position yourself as less of a salesperson – and more of a consultant. Salespeople come to initial meetings with customers with PowerPoint slides, brochures, and other detailed materials to discuss or “cram” down the customer’s throat.

Consultants come to initial meetings with customers with a prepared list of questions, a blank pad of paper to take notes, and an inquisitive mind focused on learning more about the customer’s environment and issues within it.

Your customers are not going to divulge information about their networking environment and challenges they are experiencing without prompting from you. As a service consultant, you are going to need to ask them technical support related questions that will get your customer talking about issues they may be experiencing that a technical support solution could address.

At the bottom of this page you will find several lists of questions to help get you started. Each set of questions is specific to the four key service components discussed in this curriculum.

In the future, Cisco will be introducing an application called ASCiT that will prompt you with questions and helpful suggestions to keep in mind when preparing for initial meetings with customers. Until then, the list contained here can serve as a starting point as you prepare for meetings with your customers.

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