# Tony Morris — Questioning Techniques for Sales

Source: "Coffees for Closers" by Tony Morris

Tony Morris teaches that the quality of the questions you ask determines the quality of the sale. Great salespeople are not smooth talkers — they are great questioners.

## Core Philosophy

**The best salespeople listen more than they talk.** Every question should serve a purpose: to qualify, to understand, or to guide toward a decision.

> "A sale is not something you do to someone. It's something you do for someone."

## The Questioning Framework

### 1. Situation Questions
Establish the facts. Use early in discovery.
- "Tell me about your current situation."
- "How long have you been thinking about this?"
- "What prompted you to reach out?"

### 2. Problem Questions
Uncover pain points and challenges.
- "What's the biggest challenge you're facing right now?"
- "What would happen if you didn't address this?"
- "What's been holding you back?"

### 3. Implication Questions
Make the problem feel larger and more urgent.
- "How is that affecting your plans?"
- "What does that mean for your timeline?"
- "If this continues, what happens next?"

### 4. Need-Payoff Questions
Get the prospect to articulate the value of solving the problem.
- "If we could solve that, what would that mean for you?"
- "How would it feel to have this sorted?"
- "What would change for you if this was handled?"

## Estate Agent Application

### For Vendors:
- "What prompted the decision to move?" (situation)
- "What concerns you most about the selling process?" (problem)
- "If the property doesn't sell in the timeline you need, what happens?" (implication)
- "If we could have you moved by [date], what would that mean for your family?" (need-payoff)

### For Buyers:
- "What are you looking for in your next home?" (situation)
- "What's been the most frustrating part of your search?" (problem)
- "How long can you realistically keep searching?" (implication)
- "If this property ticked all your boxes, how quickly would you want to move?" (need-payoff)

### For Fee Conversations:
- "What do you value most in an estate agent?" (situation)
- "What went wrong with your previous agent?" (problem)
- "What did that cost you in terms of time and money?" (implication)
- "If we could avoid all of that and get you a better result, would the fee be the deciding factor?" (need-payoff)

## Key Principles

1. **Never answer a question with a statement when you can answer with a question.** Keeps you in control.
2. **Silence is your friend.** After asking a question, wait. Don't fill the gap.
3. **The best close is a question, not a statement.** "Shall we get started?" beats "I think you should sign up."
4. **Preparation wins.** Know your questions before the conversation. Don't wing it.
5. **Every conversation should have a purpose and a next step.** If there's no next step, you've wasted the meeting.

## The Coffee Shop Test

If you can't explain your value proposition in the time it takes to order a coffee, it's too complicated. Simplify.

> "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."