The Power of the Questions We Ask
First I'll finish my thought on the context of the coaching call in our recent conversation. In concluding our call that day we all agreed that the importance of asking questions of prospective clients and clients alike is critical to the success of our relationship as business coaches. The questions we ask must be intelligent questions. These questions should not waste the time of the business owner, because a truly professional coach will have done his or her homework prior to meeting with a client. Great questions lead to critical thinking about issues that impact your business day in and day out. Great sales professionals asked great questions. Great managers and coaches and leaders ask great questions. Most importantly, once the questions have been asked, great leaders are willing to listen and respond accordingly.
In a broader sense, the questions we ask in business and life have a lot to do with the amount of planning we commit to doing each day, each week, each month and each year. I also believe it has to do with how much we care about something. In other words, what's in it for us to ask questions? For us it's the step that drives your goal setting process.
I'm always amazed to meet people who have no goals. People who do no planning. In the most sad instances, some of these people don't even have thoughts or intentions about what they really want out of life. They are stuck. Victims of their own environment and thinking. Or lack thereof.
Asking questions is a skill learned over time. It is driven by a desire to learn. To contribute and to help. At least that's my perspective about asking important questions of business leaders. What's working? What's missing? What's not working? What's next? Who's going to be held accountable for what and by when? These are the baseline questions we must ask on a regular basis. Then we must dig deep to find the answers.
Those of us who choose to approach life as students, even though we may be accomplished teachers, stand to gain the most out of life. The best students ask great questions. They too are hungry for knowledge. They too are on a quest for knowledge that never ends. This should be one of your core values and commitments.
So what are your thoughts about asking questions? Do you give yourself high marks in this category or could you do better? This in itself is a great question. Because I think we can always get better when it comes to asking questions that drive critical thinking and the actions that must follow.
Let us know what you think, as usual we appreciate your contributions. A
As always, warm regards.
Cliff Jones, cliff@businesscoach.com
Comments
"If your business could save 30% on your worker's compensation costs, would you be willing to visit our web-site? www.creativerisksolutionscalifornia.com
thank you for your consideration,
Bill Hesselbacher
I am sure you're making your share of "warm" calls expanding upon and leveraging your "centers of influence" in your network. Your approach should be with both.
While I think the beginning of your question is compelling, it strikes me as being perhaps a bit too direct and "salesy" for some people to respond the way you want them to. On the other hand, it will get some people to pay attention and listen more.
However, the downside to your question is that it's a closed-end question. They can say "Yes" or "No" and you can guess which one you'll hear most of the time. Also, do you really want to try to "enroll" new clients by having them go to your website versus meeting you over the phone or in person where you can establish a relationship?
Remember, people are bombarded with sales and marketing messages and we all tend to tune most of them out. We don't want to be sold. We want to buy and do business with people we like and trust who can deliver a cost effective solution.
So Bill, think about reframing your question to something like, "How would you feel about talking or meeting with me to discuss whether our proven cost-saving strategies could apply to your bottom line?"
Hope this helps.
Excellent that you are cold calling. It takes an effort to do so. Also, I would recommend making your fisrt question what I call a knowledge question or knowing how the answer matches your question on the value side of the equation. This will take some research. Keep the initial question focused on value and/or a service enhancement that wil eventually lead to cost savings.
Thank You Very Much for your response.
Based on your advice, I have modified my approach.
The results in just a limited amount of time have been very impressive and has me optomistic for 2008.
Just wanted to let you know and perhaps encourage others to contact you.
Thanks again
Bill Hesselbacher
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