by Tony Vidler
Great questions are integral to client engagement, but what is a really GREAT question?
One of the keys to success for any professional is having strong sales skills, or to put it another way, the ability to influence clients to shift their thinking. Is that “selling” though, or is that just the intelligent and deliberate use of sound psychological principles to help clients make good choices that will lead them to the goals they aspire to achieve?
My reason for highlighting this at the outset is that there seems to be increasing resistance on the part of professionals to do, or use, anything which might sound like it is “selling”. And there should not be. Selling consists of great questions that uncover needs and wants, and then delivering the right solution – right? Selling ideas, concepts, strategies, different options is what we do. Convincing people that a different way forward is the better way is a core part of the professional’s role. Selling stuff or products that the client can live without or which is not in their best interest is not part of our role of course.
When it comes to influencing clients ethically and positively to make better choices we need to use some soft skills to help guide and coach their thinking, and at the forefront of those soft skills are our questioning techniques. There is a simple question (so not really a “technique”) which is quite powerful in terms of engaging clients and getting them to understand what is acceptable (or not) in their own opinion. It is “what’s the worst that could happen?”
In this weeks Quick Tips video we work through why this is such a great question when working with clients and prospects, and how it leads to greater engagement…
…watch the video to learn more…
[wpvideo yhVHiHrq]
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