If you were to give me only two tools in my leadership or sales toolbelt, I would choose #1 as “questions”. #2 would be stories.
As Dale Carnegie so aptly advised, decades ago, “Better to be interested than to be interesting.”
Leaders and sales professionals the world over love to talk, but here’s why questions are more powerful than talking and pitching.
- Avoid Assumptions: Asking questions ensures that you don’t make assumptions about your team member or prospect’s needs or situation. By seeking clarity, you avoid potential misunderstandings and demonstrate a genuine interest in their unique challenges and goals. You get paid more for what you learn than for what you know.
- Gets Them Talking: Questions are a great way to engage your others in conversation. When you ask thoughtful questions, you encourage them to open up and share more about their business, needs, and pain points.
- When They are Talking, the Chemistry is Good: When people communicate, their brains release a neurochemical cocktail that can make them feel good or bad. Positive conversations can trigger higher levels of dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and other biochemicals that can make people feel good and give them a sense of well-being.
- Puts Them in Control and Builds Trust: When others feel like they are in control of the conversation, they are more likely to trust you. Asking questions gives them the opportunity to steer the discussion towards topics that are most important to them.
- Leads the Conversation: While it might seem like asking questions puts you on the back foot, it actually allows you to guide the conversation strategically. By asking the right questions, you can lead team members towards recognizing their needs and how your solutions can address them. Often times they haven’t given much thought to these questions, so you are helping them discover their own needs and wants in the process.
- Discover Their Real Priorities: Clients and team members often have many priorities, but not all of them are immediately apparent. Through effective questioning, you can uncover their true priorities and align your conversation accordingly.
- Uncover Real Pain, Real Gaps in Knowledge: Questions can reveal the real pain points and gaps in your client or team member’s knowledge or capabilities. This insight is invaluable as it allows you to tailor your solutions to directly address their most pressing issues.
- Gaining Ammo to Sell: The information gathered from asking questions gives you the “ammo” you need to make a compelling case for your product or service. You can use their own words and concerns to build a persuasive argument.
- Position as the Expert: By asking insightful questions, you position yourself as a knowledgeable expert who understands the complexities of their situation and can help them navigate it.
- They’re Learning: Through the process of answering your questions, people often gain new insights about their own challenges. This learning process can be highly valuable and make them appreciate your interaction even more.
- Entering into a Social Covenant: Engaging in a meaningful dialogue through questions helps build a relationship of trust and mutual respect. This social covenant lays the foundation for a strong, long-term relationship. Consistency bias means that when a person says something with their own mouth, they want to be consistent with what they’ve said.
In conclusion, mastering the art of asking questions is essential for any leader who wants to have a positive impact and and help others succeed. It’s not just about getting the answers you need; it’s about building relationships, understanding your team members and clients, and positioning yourself as a trusted advisor. So, the next time you’re in a meeting of any kind, remember to harness the power of questions.
-Chris Cloud and the CloudNINE Team
