How Thoughtful Questioning and Engaged Listening Can Build Trust (and New Clients)
by Jeb Foster
In a June 2008 post entitled “How to sell anything to anyone,” columnist Penelope Trunk, author of the blog Brazen Careerist, advised would-be sellers of anything to shut up and “ask a good question.”
Try to glean your prospect’s story. The better you know their story, the better you’ll be able to help them. |
Why questions?
Good question. Here’s Trunk: “[Asking an] open-ended question helps you to understand the challenges, solutions, or opportunities you are trying to capture. And the more you can align yourself with your client and their concerns, the more likely you will be to capture their business.”
For many people in sales—which has perhaps a greater population of extroverts than other professions—taking the time to ask a question and stay quiet for long enough to hear the answer is perhaps not a natural proclivity. But it’s something that everyone can learn with a little practice.
How to ask the right kind of questions.
Questioning is an art form.
The undisputed king of questioning is Canadian investigative reporter John Sawatsky (now working for ESPN) who is every journalist’s go-to trainer on interviewing. Sawatsky’s rules are simple, intuitive and incredibly effective in extracting information in a non-threatening way. His number one rule? Don’t ask yes or no questions. Another rule: keep questions short and free of charged words.
Sawatsky believes good questions are like clean windows. “A clean window gives a perfect view. When we ask a question, we want to get a window into the source. When you put values in your questions, it’s like putting dirt on the window. It obscures the view of the lake beyond. People shouldn’t notice the question in an interview, just like they shouldn’t notice the window. They should be looking at the lake.”
Important! Careful question-asking is not the same thing as an interrogation. Remember, the point is to get the prospect to open up and feel comfortable with you. Rapid-fire questioning will have the opposite effect.
While you’re not a journalist, think of yourself as a someone who’s trying to glean your prospect’s story. The better you know their story, the better you’ll be able to help (read: sell to) them.
Effective questioning isn’t easy—it takes time to become an effective interviewer— but it’s a worthwhile investment. Let’s go back to Trunk: “The better you get at asking these questions, the better answers you’ll get; and the best answers get you closer to the person who is accountable for solving the problem. And that’s the person who will be most likely to give you that yes answer that you are looking for.”
