If you're responsible for generating appointment or selling over the telephone (and always face to face) then you're going to want to print these questions and commit them to memory as you weave them permanently into your qualifying or discovery step in your selling strategy.

Regardless of industry, the majority of salespeople who I coach seem to experience the same challenge. And the solution to that challenge is fortunately, a universal fix that's sure to apply to you.

I'm referring to getting your prospects to move; to take action, try or buy from you or even meet with you. Any added benefit you can provide may be a nifty nice to have but is it compelling enough for them to invest their time, resources and energy into buying and implementing what you're selling? After all, what they may have now might be 'good enough' and the only thing that's going to move them is by uncovering a greater cost to keeping things the way they are.

That's why pain is always a greater motivator than any perceived benefit the prospect may realized. That is, what's the cost of not taking action or making the change? Focus on that, and you'll be moving through your selling process with more qualified prospects at blazing speed.

Keep in mind the first several questions are going to be industry specific that you need to develop in order to see if they are even a viable prospect. How many questions are going to be determined by your product, service or industry.

Then continue with the following questions to uncover the problems and the pain that will motivate them to take action and make a change.

• If you could magically eliminate three of your biggest problems, headaches or stresses as they relate to (STATE YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE/SOLUTION OFFERED) what would they be? [If there were three problems that you would want to see resolved with your current (vender/product/service) what would they be?

• How do these challenges affect your business (bottom line)?

• How does this (current problem, headache) affect you and your job/life? (Tie in the challenges they are experiencing to their position. What’s their personal cost as a result of these challenges? Bigger workload, longer hours, higher stress, looking bad on their evaluation, job security, etc.

• If you don't make any changes, then what do you think it's going to cost you over time? (What is it going to cost you by not changing? What additional opportunities do you think you're letting go by? Do you think there is business you may miss by not changing? What's the cost of not changing?)