When doing discovery, Ranging Probes are a wonderful solution when dealing with “squishy” information or situations where your prospect’s answers might span a spectrum. Acting like a prism, Ranging Probes can separate intertwined answers into individual colors!
Let’s follow an example conversation…
You ask, “What’s your typical sales cycle length?”
Your prospect replies, “Ummmm….” Your prospect is struggling to condense several possible situations down to a single choice. They’re thinking, “Well, it depends on the market and product…”
You cleverly rephrase, realizing that your prospect isn’t sure how to answer, “Okay, tell me, what are your fastest sales cycles, what are your longest, and what might be a typical average?”
Your prospect responds, “Oh, the shortest run a month, the longer cycles can be a year to eighteen months, and the average is around six months…”
Notice that you just been rewarded with three pieces of information on this topic: That’s an unanticipated advantage of Ranging Probes. Now you know much more about your prospect’s sales cycles than just a simple average.
Be prepared to rephrase a question as a Ranging Probe whenever there is potential flexibility or squishiness in the response. A long, “Ummmm…” from your prospect is often a good indicator of this situation!
You’ll find many more practical tips like this in Doing Discovery.
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