Why is it that some of us become dumbfounded or suffer a momentary case of dry mouth when asking prospects questions during an initial sales meeting, questions that undoubtedly determine the course of the relationship going forward?
If you ran a marketing company and were seeking an engagement with a decision maker over lunch, wouldn’t it be natural to ask the person “What do you look for when hiring a marketing firm?” an obvious, second nature question that rarely gets asked.
Suppose you’re about to start a project and you think about asking, “What parameters will you use to gauge the success or failure of this project?” It’s something ever project manager wants to know, but somehow the question never seems to surface during the conversation.
If you’ll be producing reports full of numbers, say website stats or search marketing numbers, for client’s in the coming months wouldn’t it be prudent to know which numbers are “hot buttons” the client will hone in on when pouring over the reports? Won’t the numbers determine whether or not the relationship continues or comes to an end?
Here’s your homework for the coming weeks, put yourself in the customer’s position and think about what it is that you would want to know before hiring someone. Will budget concerns or time constraints be deciding factors? Will the person’s level of experience be the deal breaker? Try to come up with questions that are not vague or have little value. This is an exercise that will take some mind time. As time goes by, sharpen the questions until you believe they’re the best ones to ask.
The goal for 2014 will be to remove the unfounded fear of asking the right questions. If you’re the New Years resolution type (that actually has success, only 8% do) then add this task to your list.
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