When most professionals think of sales scripts, they start thinking about how you will “convince” someone to invest in your product or service. This often puts people in a constant state of paralysis to learn so many products or features that they are not stumped when the customer asks a question.

Instead of learning countless (and useless) details about what you’re selling, I invite you to consider a different approach. This approach will not make you go to meetings to find out the smallest details of your competition compared to your company because none of that is necessary when you want to close a serious deal.

The reality is that you can’t “sell” anyone anything they don’t really need or want. Even when you accomplish the feat of selling ice to Eskimos, it is highly unlikely that they will ever be very happy with your product. Consider the following three methods for asking powerful questions that will always get you a date.

Question 1: get your first yes

To get your foot in the door (or even to get the customer to come to you) you need to put the customer at ease with simple questions that they would be crazy not to agree with. For example, if you were selling copiers, then your first question to a small business owner might be, “Are you currently using a copier in your office?”

With the needs of most businesses of any size, this is a definite yes. Even offices with 1-2 people have a small copy. Regardless of your industry, your first question just needs to be an obvious question that doesn’t really qualify the prospect, but makes them agree with you.

Getting your first “yes” is key to starting the conversation off right and putting yourself in control as an interviewer.

Question 2 – Transition and getting your second Yes

Most professionals, whether they’re selling products or services, only ask a single question and then go into “speech” mode about what they’re selling. This is a surefire way to get your prospect to stop listening and might even get them to hear a dial tone. Approaching a date requires asking another question where you’ll get a “yes” more than 90% of the time.

For example, to use the copier example again, the second question and transition would be “It’s great that you currently have a copier in your office. Would it help your business if you could save 15% per month on your expenses?”

A business owner who doesn’t want to save money is a waste of time. This second question should generate a 100% success rate for those who are worthy of your third question.

Question 3 – Get a No

It’s important not to get too anxious at this point, as your third question is where the rubber meets the road. (Note that you haven’t mentioned your product or service yet—no introduction!) Your third question should result in a “no,” giving you an opportunity to provide value.

To continue with the copier example, you could ask, “That’s great, since saving money would help you. Has anyone taken the time to look at all of your expenses to see how you could save money each month?”

For more than 85% of business owners, this would be a resounding “no”. Even their accountant barely looks at what they do each month. Pay special attention that you haven’t already mentioned copying, as it really isn’t that important to getting the date.

provide value

Now that you’ve received a “no”, it’s time to offer value. It’s a simple transition that will always get you a date. Your transition works as follows.

“Since you’re interested in saving money and no one has taken the time to do it for you, I’d be happy to spend just 40 minutes to see how I could help you save money. It would be a Tuesday at 3:00 pm to work better or something.” Sometimes on a Thursday at 10 am?”

Regardless of whether you sell copiers, real estate, or even a service, following this format will allow you to get more quotes from your calls. When you want to discover how to use powerful questions in your business, I invite you to take advantage of my free 5-day course on Questions That Sell.