Why should I hire you? Why is your company different? Why are you better than your competitors? The Whys are plentiful and seemingly never ending when you are trying to win new business. How you answer is where you will win or lose that new business.

I have three suggestions that will help you win more new business.

Prepare. Create your own list of all the whys you have been asked. You will be surprised how long that list can be. Make sure you include the questions that were whys in different words. Especially on the list should be the whys that you didn’t answer well. It is those that lead to my next point

Rehearse. One by one ask the questions on your list to yourself. Standing in front of mirror will help. Enlisting the help of a colleague to do the asking is also a good idea. Pay particular attention to the responses with which you stumble or have trouble delivering a smooth articulate comment. The more you prepare and rehearse the better your ability to overcome the whys will be. Almost as important as these two points is what pulls them together – listening.

Listen. Not only do you need to be able to answer the whys you need to understand what may be behind the question. What is the prospect really asking? Are you going to sweet talk me today and not fulfill you implied promises? “I don’t see how you can justify your prices.” “Can I be sure that you will do what you say?” Questions couched as a why can really mean something different, deeper. Following the ebb and flow of your conversations without jumping in to comment on everything the prospect says will give you the opportunity to try and identify where they are coming from. Many of the whys will be revealed in the extraneous dialog between you. Listening to yourself in the context of the back and forth is where you get to judge your own performance and where you need to improve.

Whys are not objections but a call for more information.   Remember your prospect is trying to make a decision they are comfortable with. The more you prepare, rehearse and listen, the quicker you will get them to that point and win their business.