Ask the Right Questions Differently

It’s not always easy to get the answers we want during our diagnosis call. Whether the client doesn’t feel comfortable initially, we didn’t ask the question properly, or they simply haven’t thought about their business thoroughly enough, we sometimes hit a roadblock to a question we need definitively answered.

When this happens, it’s tempting to get discouraged and give up on getting an answer. But you won’t if you’re always prepared with two to three different questions to obtain the same information.

For example, you’ve done your due diligence before the call—been to the company’s website, scoured all their social media, maybe even seen them on competitors’ platforms. Yet, you’ve been unable to uncover the prospect’s USP. So, you’re in the diagnosis call and ask, “What makes you unique—why would I choose to do business with you instead of your other three competitors?”

The client pauses, and then dejectedly responds with, “Hmm, that’s a tough question. I can’t say we really do anything that makes us that different.”

Like any good rep, you dig deeper, referencing something you saw on the client’s website or mentioning something their competitor does. But, and I’ve experienced this many times myself, it’s still not enough to get them talking.

At this point, there’s no point in pushing them for an answer. The better tactic is to move on to other questions but make a note to come back to this in a different way later. As the conversation continues, you build credibility and will earn the opportunity to ask different types of questions that the prospect may have been hesitant to answer if asked earlier. The simple “What makes you unique” can now be re-phrased as,

“So Mr./Mrs. ABC Auto owner, if I asked 50 of your most loyal customers in this city why they chose to get their car fixed by ABC Auto, what types of things would they say?”

OR

“You’ve been in business for 10 years, what would you say is the single largest misconception people have about your industry and what are you doing to remedy that?”

All we’re doing here is indirectly getting to the same place we attempted to reach before. They’re still USP questions—they’re just framed differently and feel different to the business owner.

It’s smart to be prepared with two to three different questions to uncover one answer for all of the important areas of the prospect’s business: Advertising, Competition, Core Customer, Challenges, Goals, and Distinctions. That way, you won’t get discouraged when you run into a “roadblock” to a question because you’ll know it’s only temporary.