Customers only buy if they are aware of what their needs are. If a customer thinks about their need as ‘somehow get PCBs on time with zero defects’, it is easier for us to get their business than if they just need to ‘buy PCBs’.

Asking problem questions helps customers fully see their needs, and gives us information on what solution to offer. But not yet! Sometimes it’s tempting to jump right into presenting the solution, but keep in mind that your prospect might not see the problem right away, even if it is obvious to you.

Remember, you will never learn when you are talking.

To understand the difficulties your prospect might face with their current QTA solution, you could ask problem questions like:

HOWARD: With so many quick turn demands, how are you and the team coping with the workload?
CUSTOMER: It’s OK, we have new QTA buyer who just started, so it will get easier. But yes, challenging days, we are behind on many other activities.
HOWARD: What sort of response times are you seeing to the RFQ’s?
CUSTOMER: Well, some are better than others, but typically, 24-48 hours.
HOWARD: How quick are you finding the EQ process?
CUSTOMER: Some of the really rubbish traders “hide” behind EQ’s., Sometimes they simply send in questions from their factory. Really frustrating. Can add sometimes 3 days, even 4 days to the lead-time.

OK, I am starting to get excited. I can smell the money! What did we learn this time?

• They have a new QTA buyer, we need to make friends with him or her
• Quote response times – it’s quite long, we can do better
• Real problem with EQ’s. We are more professional (and quicker) than that!
• We are up against ”traders”, they do not seem to be buying directly from a QTA factory
• EQ issues mean late deliveries. That means Time To Market is delayed.

NARRATOR: This woman sure needs help! This is so exciting! What will Howard do next? Will he ask open questions? Don’t miss the next lesson about Impact questions!