FOR PERSONAL BANKERS

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Using Probing Questions

to Uncover Needs

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FOR PERSONAL BANKERS

Customers will come to you with different needs and

problems. To help your customers, you will need to uncover

their individual situations. By asking the right probing questions,

you can determine exactly what it is your customers want or need.

By listening carefully to what they say and observing their actions and

reactions, you can make suggestions to help them meet those needs.

Probing questions are a valuable tool in gathering information. Each customer has a

wide range of ?nancial needs, however the customer may not de?ne them adequately.

That is why asking the right question is an important sales skill. The purpose of questioning is to get the customer to state their ?nancial requirements/needs. Only after you

thoroughly understand the customer¡¯s situation can you present the products/services

that will best meet those needs.

CSP TIP

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Incorporate the

customer¡¯s name

into your questions. The

personalization of your

conversation will help

overcome resistance to

answering your questions.

Example: ¡°Mr. Customer,

to better understand your

needs, may I ask you a few

questions?¡±

How and when you ask questions is as important as

what you ask. Before you begin the probing process,

always ask for the customer¡¯s permission. By requesting permission and providing a brief explanation of why

you will be asking these questions, you will keep the

customer from becoming defensive and resistant to

answering your questions because s/he will understand

that you are only trying to gain information to better

understand her/his needs. (Example: ¡°May I ask you a

few questions so I can determine which one of our accounts will be best for you?¡±¡±To save you time, I need

to ask you a few questions. Would that be okay, Mr.

Customer?¡±).

This will also be an easy

way for you to maximize

your evaluation scores!

Service & sales Teamwork Attitude Recognition Success

800-841-7954

Page 1 of 3

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? Using Probing Questions

FOR PERSONAL BANKERS

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to Uncover Needs - continued

When asking questions, follow this three-step process:

Start with general questions to establish

rapport - ¡°How did you hear about our Bank?¡±

¡°What is the main reason you are interested in

opening a new checking account?¡± ¡°Is this the

primary checking account for you and your wife?¡±

Move on to detailed questions - ¡°Tell me about features that are especially

important to you?¡± ¡°About how many checks do you write each month?¡±

¡°You said convenience is important, correct?¡± ¡°Have you ever tried on-line

bill paying?¡±

Finish with questions that are more sensitive in nature - ¡°Is your payroll check

set up for direct deposit?¡± ¡°If I understand you correctly, the reason you are

looking for a new account is that you are tired of paying the service fees at the

bank where you currently have your account ¨C is that right?¡± ¡°Is there anything

else that you dislike about your current account?¡±

There are two basic types of probing questions:

OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS: Require more of an answer than ¡°yes¡± or ¡°no¡±. Open-ended

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probing questions often start with who, what, where, how, why, tell me, explain or

describe. The answers to this type of question provide a lot of information and

important clues about what the customer needs, wants or knows about your products/

services. Open-ended questions should be the primary type of question used to gather

information because they get the customer talking. The more you encourage your customer to talk, the more you learn. (Example: ¡°Tell me more about what¡¯s important to you in a checking account.¡±) After you¡¯ve gathered the initial information

with open-ended questions, use closed-ended questions to ?ll in the missing

pieces.

CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS: Can be answered with a simple ¡°yes¡±, ¡°no¡± or one

word response. Frequently they begin with would, can, are you, which,

will, do, is, has, does, and when. Closed-ended probing questions limit

discussion. They should be used to con?rm facts and obtain details or

speci?c information from customers. (Example: ¡°Do you want a checking

account that pays interest?¡±)

Service & sales Teamwork Attitude Recognition Success

800-841-7954

Page 2 of 3

- continued

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Since open-ended questions provide more comprehensive information, use the

following substitutions to change a closed-ended question to an open-ended one:

Replace

?ARTICLE

? Using Probing

Questions

to Uncover Needs

FOR PERSONAL BANKERS

WITH

Did you¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­ When will you

Have you¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..............................What have you

Is there¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­....¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­..What is there

Do you¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...................................How do you

Will you¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.....Tell me how you will

Can you¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Describe how you can

Was it¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­........................Explain what it was

SUGGESTION:

Using an effective mix of open and closed-ended probing questions gives you

the input you need to respond knowledgably to your customer. To increase the

amount of information you obtain from your customers, use more open-ended

questions. Start your information gathering with open-ended questions. Use

closed-ended questions to provide speci?c details during the conversation.

When gathering information, be sure you ask questions that address both the customer¡¯s

PERSONAL and FINANCIAL needs. Including a mix of personal and ?nancial questions

is essential to having a clear understanding of the customer¡¯s situation. (Note: These

questions are primarily used by Bankers.)

PERSONAL QUESTIONS are related to lifestyle/home life issues.

Examples: ¡°Mrs. Customer, are you going to purchase a house or will

you be renting?¡± ¡°Where do you live? Work?¡± ¡°Mr. Customer, how

soon will you begin your remodeling project?¡± ¡°Will you be doing

the work yourself or have you hired a contractor?¡±

FINANCIAL QUESTIONS are related to the customer¡¯s

account relationships and/or speci?c product needs, etc.

Examples: ¡°Mr. Customer, what kind of accounts do you

currently have?¡± ¡°What are your account balances?¡±

¡°Mr. Customer, what do you like about your current

?nancial services provider? Dislike?¡± ¡°Would you

need immediate access to your money or could you

invest your funds in a longer-term investment?¡±

Service & sales Teamwork Attitude Recognition Success

Copyright ? 2004 by Customer Service Pro?les, LLC, All Rights Reserved

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ABOUT IT . . .

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you would like to share?

If so, e-mail it to:

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