The secret to successful communication in business and in
everyday life is asking the right questions. Understanding
the value of effective questioning is probably the single
most dominant factor in achieving business success. The way
to learn about what people need is to ask a question and
then listen carefully to the answer.
What do Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, and Barbara Walters all
have in common? They are all great interviewers. They
have the uncanny ability to make people feel comfortable
and talk by asking the right questions. The bottom line is
that customers and prospects will gladly volunteer
information about what they think they want in pricing,
products and services if you ask the right questions. The
more questions you ask, the more the customer or prospect
will talk, which allows you to uncover their "hot buttons".
Remember, approximately 90 percent of customers and
prospects think about themselves first.
To start, you should always remember the 7 keys to good
questioning. It's a matter of being clever, and being
direct. How better to accomplish this than to utilize
these 7 keys:
1. Why? For example: Why would you choose software A over
software B for your small business IT Solutions?
2. Who? For example: Who would you recommend this product
to and why?
3. Where? For example: Where did you first hear about my
small business?
4. When? When were you hoping to have project A completed?
5. What? What troubleshooting issues have you discovered
while using this software program?
6. How? How do you feel about our new shipping policy?
7. Is it? Is it alright if I contact you in the future if
I need more information?
You've probably already noticed that number 7, "is it"
isn't one of the standard questions that you consider when
you think of posing questions, but "is it" allows you to
verify what you have learned by listening carefully to the
answers to keys number 1-6. Confirming and verifying what
customers are saying demonstrates to them that you are
listening carefully to what is being said, and reassures
them that their input matters. It also allows you to
better absorb and synthesize what is being stated so that
you can put it into its best application.
There is an art to asking the questions. While using the 7
keys to good questions does get you off to a good start,
you have to remember to keep things well focused, so that
the responses that you receive will be tailored to what you
are seeking to discover. Most people have a natural
tendency to pose very general questions. However, while
conducting business, you need to aim to ask questions that
are as detailed as possible, so that you will receive a
better response, and so that the person with whom you are
speaking will know you are a good listener.
Keep in mind, also, that just because a question is
detailed, doesn't mean that it has to be verbose in any
way. Rather, it must simply be worded in a way so that the
right information is provided within the response.
For example, if someone were to ask you "how do you start a
small business?" that would leave you in a bit of a lurch
with regards to what to say and where to start.
Additionally, it will necessarily lead to a number of other
questions that negate the purpose of asking the original
question in the first place: more detailed questions.
Don't waste the time of the person to whom you are asking
questions, don't waste your own time, and keep confusion to
a minimum. A better question with which to begin may have
been something more detailed such as: "How do you start a
small mail order business in Richmond, Virginia, that deals
in laptop computers?" Notice the difference?
The foundation to asking good questions and achieving a
wealth of practical answers is to apply the 7 keys in a
direct and detailed manner. They allow you to get to the
root of your question, so that you will gain the
information and direction that you need to take specific
action.
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Robert Moment is an innovative small business coach ,
speaker and author. Robert specializes in teaching
entrepreneur how to start a small business that profits and
grow. Visit http://www.howtostartyoursmallbusiness.com and
sign-up for the FREE Small Business Coaching 7 day
e-course titled, "Turn Passion into Profit: Small Business
Startup".
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