If you want to get really good answers, you need to ask really good questions.
With that in mind, I’d like you to consider a new question. A really good question you can use when speaking with a prospective client or customer. A question that will help you gain access to a really useful answer.
Here it is. Just before you finish speaking with a new prospect, ask them the following.
“Are there any questions you would like me to have asked you?”
Typically, you would simply ask them at the end, if there’s anything else they’d like to know or if they have any questions. If they were not particularly motivated to hire you or buy from you, they’ll usually just say ‘no’, as a way to wind the meeting down. At that point, you’ve lost them.
However, when you ask, “Are there any questions you would like me to have asked you?”, their focus shifts.
Some who were not particularly motivated to hire you or buy from you, will now use your question as an invitation to tell you what their issue is. This is especially the case if they were unhappy with something they think you missed.
You’ll then discover the very thing that was about to lose you their contract / project / sale.
What prompted me to write this?
A friend of mine used this approach a while ago. She emailed me earlier to let me know what happened. My friend owns a commercial decorating company and explained that she had just given a quotation for a large insurance project. It followed a fire at an office block. As you can imagine, the quote involved lots of questions. At the end, she sensed the prospective client wasn’t impressed.
She then asked him, “Do you have any questions?”.
He shook his head and said, “No”.
She was about to thank him and walk away, but remembered my advice and asked him, “Are there any questions you would like me to have asked you?”
He looked at her and said; “Yes, there is”. He then told her that he thought she should have asked him if anyone was injured in the fire. She explained that she already knew someone had been badly hurt, and didn’t feel comfortable mentioning it, so focused instead on getting the quote right for him.
The prospect then thanked her for being so considerate. He said that it was a very stressful time for him.
Anyhow, a week later, after reviewing the quotes, he chose her company.
It’s not a silver bullet
Obviously, this idea will work better with some prospects, some situations and in some industries, than with others.
But I have seen enough examples over the years, both personally and from clients and associates, to confirm it can turn a lost contract or sale into a done deal. At the very least, I suggest it’s worth considering, if like my friend, you sense something is going wrong at the end of a presentation.