Amp It Up: Prefacing
Asking questions in sales, service or support is important. There are a million theories, books and articles on what questions to ask.
I don’t care about any of that today.
I’m going to give you 3 powerful tips however that will amp up the results of your questions and they take all of less than 3 seconds in a tactic I call Prefacing.
Each of these is additive in that if you apply just one tip, you’ll get better results than you do today with your normal questions but if you do all three – watch out, you’ll see amazing results immediately.
Preface #1: “I always ask…” Begin with “I always ask..” as a preface to your question of the customer or prospect. Let’s pretend you are on software sales – “I always ask business leaders if you see enough data on a daily basis to measure the health of the business…” Or let’s say you sell online marketing “I always ask owners where they think the best social media place to be to drive business.” Whatever your purpose is in asking the question is fine. But prefacing it with “I always ask” makes you sound like you’ve been there before; that you have experience, that this is not your first rodeo. In less than a second you’ve built some credibility in the minds of the listener and that psychologically will result in a more thoughtful answer by the recipient.
Preface #2: Add an Affiliation: Remember this is additive – so for example “I always ask the CFO’s of Consumer Financial organizations if they see enough data… Or “ I always ask my HVAC folks where they think….”; This addition is incredibly powerful – not only are you credible already by adding “I always ask” but now you’ve imparted in just one more second, that you know something, have talked to, have hung out with people like them in their world or in their industry. You’ve talked with CFO’s (and even better talked with CFO’s in financial orgs) or you’ve talked with HVAC owners and understand what is happening. Immensely powerful – your questions now have an even better chance of getting thoughtful and deep answers which translates into better sales service and meaningful conversations.
Preface #3: Put a Number on the Questions: This too is additive so in our examples let’s take it to the 3rd level, “I always ask the CFO’s of Consumer Financial organizations these 3 questions about visibility….” Or “I always ask my HVAC folks these 2 questions about where they think the best place is…” The theory is simple and powerful. Placing a number on the questions helps lower time tension. People are busy. When you articulate the number of questions you are going to ask in a particular space then the listener knows when it will be over and in essence will stay focused for those questions and give you great information. Not articulating a number can lead to that self-talk of “When will this be over?” or other distractions. Prefacing with the number of questions needn’t be limiting. You can easily move on to other subjects with for example “I always also ask 2 questions of HVAC folks about how hard it is to get paid quickly….”
Are the types of questions you ask important? You bet. Does everybody forget or not even think about the value of Prefacing a question? Without a doubt. In my opinion prefacing is as important as any aspect of questioning.
Here’s the beauty of today’s post. It’s easy. It’s less than 3 seconds of your time. If you are in sales, service or support as a pro or perhaps a leader, or you are a business owner, consultant or entrepreneur looking to get better conversations and more business; print this thing, spend a few minutes wrapping your head around and go to it – you’ll be amazed at what you get in return.
Till next time,
Grow The Business.
Mark
Mark McCarthy's Blog 