Lesson 9 of 9
Knowledge check
1 min read
Eight questions, all of them buyers you haven't met in this course. Six right passes. You get one submission, and afterwards you'll see why each answer is right.
Each buyer has just given a first answer. Match it to the second question that stays on their word.
A procurement lead at a hospital trust says: 'Policy says I need three quotes before this goes anywhere.' Which reply narrows it?
"Of course. I'll have ours with you by Friday."
"Three quotes, understood. What will they be compared on?"
"We're usually the strongest of the three, so the other two are a formality."
You're ten minutes from the end of a good discovery call. Put the close in order.
Wait for "yes, that's it"
Say the problem back in their words
Say what they've already tried
Say what it costs them
Propose one next step tied to it
A managing partner at a law firm answers your opening question: 'Time recording is manageable.' Then silence. What do you do?
Fill the silence with how another firm cut its time-recording admin.
Take "manageable" as a no and move to the next question on your list.
Leave the pause a second longer, then ask: "Manageable?"
If the second answer shows the buyer has no real problem, the call has failed.
An IT manager at a logistics firm says: 'I love it. But I can't sign this.' What's the move?
"You can't sign it. Is that the budget, or is it someone else's call?"
"What if we started with a smaller package that you could sign yourself?"
"If you love it, could you push it through as a one-off?"
An operations director says: 'The timing's wrong.' You narrow it, and the one thing behind it is a warehouse move in March: nobody on her team has an hour to spare before then. Which line tests a next step against that one thing?
"Understood. I'll check in again next quarter."
"If setup needed nothing from your team until after the move, would the timing still be wrong?"
"If you sign before the move, I can hold this price for you."
You play back what you heard to a head of sales at a recruitment firm. He says: 'Sort of. It's more that the forecasts arrive too late to use.' What now?
Propose the next step. You were close enough, and time is short.
Go back to your notes and explain why your summary was accurate.
Stay on the correction, play it back again with his words, and wait for the yes before you propose anything.
Finish this check and the academy issues your Carrow Practitioner certificate for this course, with your name on it. Reading as a guest, nothing is recorded; a free account collects the certificate.
Then ask the second question on your next call.