eKourier July 2020

FEATURE

WHAT IS THE KILLER QUESTION???

If you are focussed on assisting customers and have a genuine passion to understand your customers needs, the Killer Question is what you should have in your arsenal to understand.

T here is no doubt KSS has rolled out many sales courses to equip our teams with the skills to go about our sales process. A component of our pitch includes offering the features and benefits of our centres and the storage solution. There are no restrictions to when the Killer Question can be asked. Not all of us are natural salespeople, knowing the Killer Question you actually don’t need to be a sales superstar, it’s about showing our customers we understand and care about their situation. Before the Killer Question is revealed, a bit more into how building strong trusted relationships with our customers increases our chances of converting that customer to a loyal Kennards customer. Building relationships is all about engagement, empathy and listening. The fact is, most people, most of the time, are just interested in themselves, their pleasures or their problems. So, the key is to ask the Killer Question to get the customer talking about those three things. How many times have you tried to work out what your customer was thinking? Customers don’t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care and can assist them. So, don't tell them all about the features

and benefits until you know what the customer really wants, and when you understand this, you can talk about it. It will always be about what the product/experience can do for that customer and its value to them, rather than just the price, as well as managing expectations. How many times have you tried to work out what your customer was thinking? Now for the big reveal, the Killer Question applies to any scenario where you would like to question to understand. The Killer Question will open up a world of opportunities in how we interact and build relationships with our customers. It goes “What is the most important thing to you about…….” It's as simple as that. This open-ended question means the customer will hand over to you their concerns, needs etc in their response. Example: You can adjust this to any situation. “What is the most important thing to you about storing with us.” Customers response “I really need to have 24/7 ‘ ‘

access to my unit and it needs to be secure.” This is the time you can hone in on the features and benefits around access and security, resulting in an immediate engagement with the customer and their attention. Another example for delinquents when goods are ready for sale. We could ask “What is the most important thing to you about your account” typically the customers response would be “I don’t want the goods to be sold." This opens the door for us to assist in an ethical way “That is the last thing we want to do Mr Kennard, we are here to help, I propose a few options etc……” When we listen and understand our customers story, regardless if it’s a storage enquiry, box sale or delinquent call, they will lower their guard, become more responsive and form a connection. The Killer Question can be used in all situations in our work or personal environments. The key is to question to understand and apply the relevant information to the answer, building a trusting relationship. Try it out even at home… I asked my wife “What's the most important thing to you about what I do in our household” ...actually I won't give you the answer, maybe I should have kept my mouth shut #openupacanofworms.

Tony Vuong General Manager Operations

11 Kennards Kourier July 2020