I think asking questions is a fundamental characteristic of brilliant thinkers as they understand that questioning allows them to explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and gain a deeper understanding of the world around them. I also think asking questions pushes the boundaries of knowledge by identifying gaps, challenging assumptions, promoting critical thinking, stimulating curiosity, inspiring innovative solutions, and fostering collaboration. By constantly questioning, brilliant thinkers are able to expand the frontiers of knowledge and make significant advancements in their respective fields.
How to gain trust?
Open-ended questions encourage the person to elaborate and provide more information, allowing for a richer and more detailed conversation. To probe and gather more information on a specific topic, here are five open-ended questions you can ask:
- Can you provide more details about [specific aspect of the topic]?
- How does [specific aspect] impact or influence [broader concept]?
- What are some potential challenges or obstacles associated with [topic]?
- Could you share any relevant examples or case studies that illustrate [concept or phenomenon]?
- In your opinion, what are some promising areas of future research or exploration within [field or topic]?
I think that when you get the brain to think differently by asking questions, you are forcing the client to open up and think.
““The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.””
Old fashioned and still relevant
I’m in London for the festive season and was thinking how much difference it would make if these three words - “Word of mouth” - were in most 2023 marketing plans. Word of mouth is the process of telling people you know about a particular product or service, usually because you think it is good and want to encourage them to try it. Word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing, and I think you will materially increase your revenue by incorporating these words into your marketing strategy.
““The best form of intelligence is not artificial” ”
Can you answer these three basic marketing questions?
1. Who are you talking to?
2. What do you do that no competitors can?
3. Why should we believe you?
Send me your answers via e-mail and win a one hour consultation with me.
Better questions
Good sales questions are measured by the level of curiosity they spark in your buyer. Buyers will create a budget where none exists when there’s a meaningful-enough problem, that’s worth solving.
Why do they need it?
How is it different?
Why is it better?
What happens if they don’t get it?
“Knowledge is having the right answers. Intelligence is asking the right questions. Wisdom is knowing when to ask the right questions. ”
The why behind the why
Most salespeople are product pushers, I think you have to stop acting like a seller and start thinking like a buyer. In other words, spend more time discovering their problem and then use this knowledge to solve their problem. The ability to uncover problems that the buyer already has becomes much easier when you detach yourself from the outcome. All salespersons can find out the buyers’ problems, but only the best salespersons can find out their why. And only the greatest salespeople can find out what’s behind their why. It doesn’t matter what industry; you have to learn the right questions to uncovering what’s behind the buyer’s why.
TIP: Ask questions slowly, as it will give the buyer time to be a little more reflective in their answers.
Don’t skip the steps
I think skipping a step is placing more value on the destination than the journey and this will compromise growth and learning you experience while you are on your path. I’ve worked with both transactional (fast moving consumer goods) and long-term major sales where the stakes are high (£€$) and what I’ve learned is you can’t be lazy with your process. I think it’s important remember to ask simple questions to figure out what the customer needs and not move too fast, as this will allow you the right to demonstrate the value of your product or service.
There is not a steroid for sales, there’s no magic pitch. Sales is a skill that you learn and develop, it’s a performance skill and it doesn’t matter that you know it, it only matter how well you do it.
Listening skills
Culture refers to the basics of how people work together to make decisions and how quality is maintained. I have observed that in several organisations the implicit attitude at work demands that professionalism means the employees ignore their emotions. I think that it’s important to create time and space to talk about what’s on people’s minds and I have found that if the team does this then there’s a large positive payoff - smarter questions and better understanding.
“The biggest communication problem is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply.”
Ask questions and listen
Listen without an agenda and sincerely focus on how your product or service can best serve your customer’s hopes, dreams, and goals. It’s a good idea to listen with mindfulness and then respond with a question instead of thinking about what you are going to say next while your customer is talking. I think of listening as a meditation, just being present and jotting things down in my notebook. In my experience, it’s a best practice to get as much information as possible before trying to answer, as building win-win relationships means remembering that it is not about what we want but what the other person wants.
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
How clear are your questions?
After you ask a question, be silent and listen for their answer.
⁃ Active listening means you’re concentrating on their response, making direct eye contact, and taking notes.
⁃ Are you paying attention to nonverbal cues?
⁃ What’s not being said is usually more important than what is said.
⁃ Keep it positive and focus on what can be done, not what can’t be done.
A couple of key takeaways
As a coach, I can help your team to clarify these basic questions:
What do you see as your fundamental task and goals?
Who are your most important customers, users, and stakeholders?
What are their main needs?
And then I would continue on the development track with these questions:
In which areas do you see the need for you to develop your practice?
What areas of competence do you want to develop in yourself?
What types of tasks do you have the courage to embark on in the long term?
Sales is a performance art
I love to have conversations, do you? In order to have a great conversation we need to know more about that person or persons. Asking open-ended questions is the key to keep the other person talking and from a psychological standpoint, when the other person is talking, they are sharing a lot of information about themselves. When I am speaking to people, I want them to feel comfortable with me and I want to hear their story and gather information, so when I begin to talk, it will have more relevance and impact.
One of the best things you can do as a salesperson is to listen, look at things from the customer’s point of view and learn how to ask good questions. In my experience, I have found that the average salesperson practices what to say, the best salespersons practice what to ask. This is because when you ask, you keep the conversation going and you focus on them and not yourself. We often think that selling is about talking, it’s not. Selling is about understanding and if you can understand your customers, you can have better conversations. Remember, when you are talking to the customer that it’s not a presentation, it’s a conversation.
Everyone thinks they are the best
Mammals are naturally territorial animals and view strangers as a threat. In nature, unfamiliar creatures pose a threat when they encroach on an animal's territory. How do you build trust with new people? How good is your judgement about what to work on? The process, your skill set, and your ability is the secret to success.
Everyone knows that sales professionals need to ask lots of questions, but what questions should you ask?
- Are they written down?
- Have planned them out?
- Are they sequenced?
- Are you taking the client from where they are to where they need to be?
Selling is a performance, knowing the elements of your products or services is just a tiny part. I think it’s all about how well you ask questions and uncover the client’s needs and then design your questions to build interest in your products or services. Focus on what you can control, and you have control over your strategy, tactics, and planning. Contact me via e-mail for developing yourself and a review of how well you are executing your sales strategy.
Asking better questions
I think that when you slow down and ask better questions, you will sell more effectively. The quality of your questions will determine the quality of the relationship you develop with your clients. If you ask them dumb, simple questions then that’s the relationship you are going to have. On the other hand, if you are asking deep, insightful questions - questions that make them say: “Nobody has ever asked me that” or “I’ve never thought about it from that perspective, let me think about it.”
When the quality of the questions is high, the client knows you are really trying to understand where they are coming from. It’s not about getting them to say yes, it’s about getting them to say, “That’s right, you understand.” Selling isn’t hard when you know how!
““If we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.””
We ask to get to know
The quality of your life is directly influenced by your ability to communicate with confidence and clarity. Part of being a good communicator requires that you become an active listener, and active listening requires you ask questions. Questions have benefits for both the questioner and the people responding. I think one of those benefits is proving the other person the opportunity to show more of their authentic selves. I have found that good questions really help in the discovery phase and when you ask better questions your clients will open.
Asking questions is only half the process, the other half of it is being mindful about how you respond to people. Questioning helps us do more than gathering information, like data, facts, and details. It can also help us to learn about what people are thinking, feeling and in some cases what they want. I define a better question as one that demonstrates genuine curiosity but without being too intrusive, and when we can strike that balance that’s when we can shatter the perceptions that we have of other people and what people have of us.
Questions vs. Stories
My favourite part of sales is solving problems and maintaining relationships. You need to be able to formulate a conversation, you need to be intelligent and you need to be genuinely curious if you want to work in sales. I mean that you REALLY have to have a genuine curiosity to understand your clients, their needs and ultimately tie those needs to a solution.
You will need to be good at listening and asking the right questions if you want a career in sales. You will need to be good a storyteller and be coachable. As it’s the season of goodwill, I am offering a free 30 minute non-binding discovery consultation from today to the 30th December. Send me an e-mail to book your time.
Dig the well before you get thirsty
Personal
We don’t question assumptions until the universe forces us to move out of the status quo. The people who get ahead are usually the people who do that questioning before they are forced out of the status quo, before a crisis strikes. Think out your outdated assumptions before the universe does it for you. Look at the decisions you are taking in your life right now and reflect. Question what you are doing and why you are doing them. And if you do not have a good enough answer for yourself then it’s probably not as strong as you believe it is.
Professional
I think that it’s in the hard times are when you grow and learn. To build top teams you will need to have real openness, to be honest without getting personal. Encouraging team members to express views without the fear of being ridiculed. Modern life is very technology-based, with people on their phones, therefore, the art of communication and speaking to people is nowhere as much part of life as when I was growing up.
Interview questions
What are three key points that you want to make during your interview?
Why do you want to work for this company?
Why do you think this job is a good fit for you?
Why should we hire you?
What do you like most and least about your current job?
What are your weaknesses?
What characteristics are you looking for in an ideal job?
What are you salary expectations?
What qualifications or experiences make you uniquely qualified for the position?
Do you have any questions?
Yes, I would like to know how does your product or service change the lives of your customers?
Sales tips
The best salespersons are empathic, when I say empathic, I mean putting yourself in your customers shoes. You cannot pitch with features and function if you have not previously established exactly what the buyers needs and want are by asking open ended questions.
Most salespersons are focused on feature and function, I think that the ideal method would be learn as much as possible about companies you are trying to sell to and ask a lot of opened questions. For example, T.E.D questions:
- Tell me,
- Explain to me
- Describe to me
Do you know the difference between an order taker and salesperson?
People buy from people they like and if you cannot have a conversation with them it is unlikely to go very far. How to stand out as a salesperson?
- Don’t be scripted
- Don’t sound robotic
- Be someone who is remembered
- Be coachable (as every day we need to get better)
What is your purpose?
You either believe when there is no evidence and sometimes that is delusion fuelled by denial. And sometimes, you believe where there is no evidence and this shows that you have faith in things that have not been seen yet. The challenge is knowing the difference between the two.
The mind is an element, strategy is an element, but it’s PURPOSE that is the missing link that binds everything together. Purpose is what really matters!
The majority of human beings have never had a deep thought in regards of self-regulation. Everyone is so busy, we are all so distracted that we do not give ourselves time to ask questions that matter. What truly matters is giving yourself the space and time to ask these question.
What is the purpose of your organisation?
I think that purpose is the core, root or foundation of your organisation. Therefore, if anything is poisoning the roots, then we must stop and get rid of the poison.
How?
- By looking at the relationships, dynamics within your organisation.
- By looking at what’s driving people within your organisation.
- By looking at the crap that you drag into the business and what poisons the purpose within your organisation.
And I think that if you don’t do this work, you will never get purpose within your organisation.
I Don't Know
c/o The Independent
I think that the three most powerful words are “I don’t know”.
It’s OK not to have a strong opinion on topics outside of our expertise and I am not a medical professional so many of my answers in 2020 have ended with “I don’t know.”