Funny isn’t it, that a well-crafted question causes you to buy more of what you want!
Remember a time when someone asked you a question that caused you to get excited about having what you wanted. You knew what it would
- feel like
- look like,
- sound like,
- accomplish
- and the impact it would have on your life and the lives of others.
Enjoy that memory. Or if you don’t recall one, use your imagination. Imagine that someone asks you a question that allows you to feel what it would be like for you to have that service or product. Powerful, isn’t it? I bet it got you revved up to want to buy what you wanted right then and right there. It might’ve taken a couple of questions to do the trick. You get the idea. You now know that one or two powerful questions can be at the start of a relationship that results in individuals wanting to buy more of what you offer.
Asking the right questions is the basis of your future business success.
Knowing how to ask the right questions, in the right way, at the right time, for the right reason is important in any business relationship.
chuck scharenberg
Data is now so accessible that unless you ask the right questions, data is useless. Asking the right questions is key to success. To do this, you need to think through your challenge to uncover the right questions to ask.
Business stakeholders expect leaders to have answers. This requires asking the right questions and having the skill to evaluate the answers. Asking questions will result in clarity of vision and a path forward.
Start with curiosity
I once had a client with an exceedingly difficult supervisor. To say the least, it was hard to get her cooperation on important decisions and actions. Ugh! It was frustrating!
I asked three questions about this supervisor:
- What could be causing her to be so difficult?
- What is the cost of our disagreement (to the customers, the organization, and to our team?)
- What would be the consequences of not resolving our issues?
I asked similar questions of myself:
- What is causing me to feel challenged by this person?
- What are the consequences of our disagreement to our customers?
- What is the cost to me and my team?
These questions caused me to accept that this woman most likely had a difficult life, that she was just a grouchy person, and that I didn’t have to take it personally. This allowed me to become more understanding, let go of my frustrations, and become much more creative about what she needed in order to cooperate with a solution to the challenge at hand.
I often support leaders that are stuck on a problem with a customer, a staff member, or a member of their community. It can be that they have already emotionally reacted to what that person has said or done. They may have already made a judgment about what action they need to take. They may have already implemented that action.
Whatever stage they are at in this process, I ask them to go back into observation, and use their curiosity.
Having leaders answer questions about the cause, consequences, and cost related to their problem situation allows them to be more conscious about the situation at hand. It provides them with an opportunity to get out of their own way.
What project are you working on where you might want to ask yourself the cause, consequences and cost questions?
In my next article. I will present two specific questions you can ask to tighten your focus on a specific goal and identify what success will look like.
Chuck Scharenberg is the Founder of More Profit More Freedom, a consultancy that supports the execution of large-scale growth for small businesses. His practice has successfully grown businesses with processes that identify potential roadblocks and mitigation schemes to accelerate realistic execution.