Ask Excellent Questions

Following up on last week’s post on how to Be an Excellent Listener, I thought I might address how to Ask Excellent Questions. 

Time is valuable for both you and your customers  . So when you are able to get in front of them make sure you don’t waste it. 

Being an Excellent Listener works best when you Ask Excellent Questions. 

All questions are not created equal. 

If you want to get more useful information from your customer, you have to ask the right questions.

Here are some ideas on how to elicit that information so that you and your customer get the most out of your valuable meeting time.

Ask Excellent Questions that:

• Show that you've done you homework. Before your call, make sure you do some research. Most people appreciate it when they believe you have an interest in them.
• Are asked one at a time. Don’t ask a barrage of questions in one breathe. Ask them individually. It’s easier for a customer to respond to a single question than it is to a set of sequential questions.
• Are to the point. Avoid the long preambles. Get to the question so that your customer doesn’t have to try to discern what you’re really trying to ask.
• Are customer-focused. Ask your questions in a way the makes them feel you are not there for your own benefit, but to help them. Questions that start with “I” are probably not customer-focused.
• Are not leading. Ask overhead question when able. Try to get them to talk openly. Avoid leading question to get a desired response.
• Elicit useful information. You want to probe for the information that helps identify their issues and needs. You also want to understand the issues and needs behind them.

In the sales training courses I have taken we are taught that every answer should lead to another question. 

It’s not true for every question but the real point is to follow up answers with additional questions to seek clarification or to probe deeper into that issue. 

And when you aren't sure you have a complete answer to your question, keep probing.

Now go Ask Excellent Questions.

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