MASTERING THE ADAPT QUESTIONING METHODOLOGY

FOR EFFECTIVE NEEDS DISCOVERY

Congratulations!!! You have recently joined Addvance Frozen Foods as their salesperson in the

Midwestern Territory. A food processor specializing in providing the meat entrees for large

institutions such as prisons and hospitals, Addvance is recognized as one of the industry leaders.

This reputation not only includes market share, but also extends to leadership in innovative

products and customer relations.

You have been working for several weeks to gain access to Jane Cummings, the foods buyer for

the State of Illinois Prison System. With several other food processors $($including Kraft and

General Foods$)$ located in Chicago, the competition in this region has been high. As a result,

Addvance has not been able to get its product into the Illinois System. However, Addvance has

recently introduced and started shipping an innovative turkey$-$based line of products that

averages $18$ percent higher protein and $23$ percent lower fat content per pound than anything

marketed by the competition. The higher protein and lower fat are due to Addvance's proprietary

organic soy base feed. The higher protein level per serving is extremely important to such

institutions as prisons, because it allows them to meet nutrition requirements with smaller

servings of meat entrees $($the highest per serving cost item on a plate$)$ and thus creates an

opportunity for cost reduction. In addition to these tangible benefits, the product line's average

selling price of $$2\mathrm{.}10$ per pound is $($on average$)$ $$0\mathrm{.}22$ lower than Kraft's competing products and

$$0\mathrm{.}20$ under those of General Foods. Documenting the higher protein level and lower fat content

certainly got Jane's attention when you last spoke with her. However, it was the combination of

increased protein and lower price that actually got you the appointment to talk with Jane and

members of her buying group in person.

As part of preparing for your sales call, you are compiling a set of questions that might assist you

in better understanding Jane's current situation and confirming her needs. Information gained

through this sort of effective questioning has proven valuable to you in the past as it helps you

better respond to the customer's needs and builds your credibility in the eyes of the buyer.

Following the ADAPT model of questioning, develop a series of effective Assessment,

Discovery, Activation, Projection, and Transition questions that you might use in the sales call

with Jane Cummings.

Please use the attached worksheet as a guide: