The Answer IS . . .

ASK QUESTIONS!

Whether you’re looking for better grades, improved cash flow, an investor, a loan, new customers, repeat customers, a new employee (or  job), new revenue streams, the exact right set of words for a branding themeline, or some trace of your ex-mother-in-law who changed her name and left town with the contents of your wall safe . . . your odds of success increase dramatically when you:

ASK QUESTIONS! 

You might think that’s pretty basic advice, but my experience is that it least happens when you most expect it –especially with headstrong entrepreneurs.

It isn’t that business owners strut around with a know-it-all cockiness; it’s that they don’t want to waste time and it can often seem more productive to step out of a meeting, seminar, webinar, conference call, txtmsg exchange, or cocktail party, than to suck it up and stay there and have to ask questions (when time is perceived to be better spent, instead, taking action).

Does that ring a bell or am I just imaging things?

Entrepreneurs (and most men, it seems) have to be on the verge of total mental meltdown before they’ll ever stop to ask anyone for driving directions. It used to be the threat of embarrassment for being so dumb as to have gotten lost. Now. it’s more like cringing at the thought of getting a reply like: “Hey, man, you mean you ain’t got no GPS or MapQuest thing?”

Here’s the bottom line:

If you don’t ask for what you want,

or what you want to know, 

you don’t get it!

(Always? No, sometimes we get things by accident.) 

Oh, and asking questions is completely useless if you forget the answers. Write them down. Stop with all the excuses about how much time it wastes to write things out by hand on paper (assuming you actually still own a pen and can find some paper, and remember how to write ;<)).

When you write things down, you get them out of your head, create more think space, and deal better with the inevitable interruptions that occur within seconds of getting your question answered. Note taking is not only smart insurance that you’ll walk away with an undistorted idea of what you heard, it also communicates that you value and respect the source of the responses you get.

The answers to questions

are at the root of all progress.

If you’ve been focused on secondary research sources (like books, reports, and the Internet) as your primary decision making tools, you may want to get yourself out into the real world and ask real people real questions once in awhile. There’s nothing can compare with asking real customers what they really think, really listening to their answers, and really writing down what they say.

Formal focus groups? Perhaps. But just plain old informal questions (without rebuttals, defensive reasons, excuses, or “yes, but’s”) will serve the purpose just fine. You will walk away feeling gratified, maybe astonished, and definitely enlightened. So???  (That was a question.)

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931.854.0474    Hal@BusinessWorks.US

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”  [Thomas Jefferson]

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

 STOP telling everyone

how great you are,

and just BE great.

BE what you sell!

Forget about giving away too much. If you have a service to sell, stop talking about it, and start providing it!

The fastest road to a consulting assignment is the one where you simply start BEING a consultant.

Assume the role. Ask good questions and make diplomatic suggestions. Demonstrate your expertise. No need for overkill. Just give your prospect a taste of what you’re all about.

There are many dozens of produce markets in my State.

The one that gets the lion’s share of business is the one that greets you with fresh cut slices of the latest fruit shipment, or a cracker with some of that homemade jam they sell.

Or you get home and find a free onion or green pepper in the bag of string beans or potatoes you just bought.

Savvy retail price clubs and supermarket chains do the same “try it/taste it!” deal with packaged foods. Must be something to it, huh? When did you last turn down a free sample? When did you last offer one?

Did you think people don’t notice the freebies you give them? Do they rush to buy what you treat them to? Not always, but they’ll think better of you, and eventually, they’ll buy!

Sure, there are always freeloader types who hit and run whatever they can get away with, but the vast majority of us like to get a sample slice at the deli counter, a flavor sample scoopful at the ice cream store, free website redesign recommendations from the Internet consultant, free bookkeeping ideas from the accounting firm, and new revenue stream ideas from the marketing consultant.

When a prospective ad agency client asks for some creative ideas, and they get a well thought-out action plan supported by some targeted primary and secondary research as cornerstones to support the creative recommendations, the ad agency is going the extra mile to provide a sample of its range and thoroughness.

Oh, and yes, dear lawyers, it’s bad enough you charge clients for every fraction of a breath you take:  Bite the bullet when it comes to your “get-acquainted” prospective client interviews.

Charging people to size you up is not the way to start a relationship, and it matters a lot to most who might consider your services.

Doctors: When you’re seeking patients, grant them time to interview you without an office visit fee.

Showing prospective customers, clients, and patients a little bit of what you know is only part of making the sale. Showing them how you are as a person, how you relate to them and the needs they have, how you communicate with them is even more important.

Remember –especially with service and consulting businesses– to “chunk up” your recommendations.

Resist the temptation to come off like a know-it-all or to charge in with ten (or even more than one or two) pages of recommendations. Simply pace yourself and act yourself. Avoid pandering or patronizing.

If you do all this and don’t get the business you seek, it’s not business you want.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!