Last week, I was working with a client doing mentoring about discovery sessions. We had talked about how important it is to ask questions and then listen. Then ask more questions and listen some more. Whether it be a brand new prospect or a renewal, the intent is to learn about the client in a discovery session. I tried to explain that, when you talk, you don’t learn about them. When you talk, you cannot listen. So quit talking.
It was to no avail. In the session, our client continued to talk about his organization—how great it is, the impact it makes on the community, how revered it is, and so on. He spoke about their programs, their fundraising events, and more. (At least he did not ask for money or have a pitch… that much sank in, thank goodness!) And then, lo and behold, the half hour we asked for was up. It was over—literally. I am pretty sure we will not get another meeting.
We need to get out of ourselves, ask specific questions, then listen to the responses, take notes, and listen some more. Here are some examples of questions.
- I see you are in the local newspaper three times every week with quarter page ads. That is terrific as the paper reaches a great older audience. It must work well for that demographic, but how do you measure success? How do you know it is working and not one of your other channels that is driving that older traffic?
- It is fantastic that you are able to measure ROI that way. As you said, it really targets an older demographic. How are you reaching the younger demographic?
- Who is most important to your present and future business—the older audience or the younger one?
- I see that you sponsor the hospital golf tournament. That is a great cause. What makes you choose that out of all the golf tournaments in the area?
- That sounds great. What are your business goals in doing that sponsorship? Is it about driving traffic to your store like the newspaper, or is it just brand building?
- And how do you measure success from that?
The key to asking open-ended questions is to get them to talk. Those six questions alone could take up 40-50 minutes in a meeting—if you stop to listen and engage them to talk! The key to success is asking questions, then stepping back to listen. Get yourself, your organization, and your ego all out of the way and listen.
Someone pointed out to me recently a comment made by Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel. The goal is to be remembered. “The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent!” Enough said!
These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcome as well. Please add your thoughts or comments below. Thank you for reading and your feedback.
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