February 13, 2012 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Many consultants harbor a misconception about what impresses a prospective client. They believe that giving the right answers—that being quick and clever—impresses people and builds trust in their ability to deliver.
But in truth, you’ll win more business by asking the right questions.
In today’s economy, for example, there are lots of conversations with potential clients that go nowhere. Have you experienced this? You talk and talk, hold meeting after meeting, but nobody makes a decision. You can avoid this by asking a series of incisive questions that help you verify that the organization indeed needs your help.
First, figure out if the organization’s leaders see a significant perceived problem or opportunity. If they don’t have one, why would anyone hire you?
To ascertain whether a truly significant problem or opportunity exists, you should ask questions like:
* What is this costing you right now?
* If you don’t fix this issue, what will the consequences be?
* What do you think this opportunity is worth to your organization?
* What other problems is this causing for you?
* Would you say this is one of your top two or three priorities right now?
Keep asking such questions to uncover whether there is a burning problem. If there isn’t, you won’t get the assignment.
Second, make sure you are speaking to someone who is responsible for dealing with the problem and is empowered by his or her organization to fix it. In any institution, there are always lots of problems—and plenty of people willing to talk about them. But unless you are talking to the person in charge of dealing with the issue, that’s all you’ll do—talk. Questions you can use here might include:
* Who owns this problem?
* Are you personally responsible for fixing this?
* Who would authorize an expenditure to address this?
* Who needs to be involved in this initiative?
Especially in a nonprofit organization, it’s essential to understand who the various constituencies are that need to be part of the solution.
Third, the nonprofit must have a healthy dissatisfaction with the current rate of change or improvement. The organization may have a problem, and it may be significant—but it will not hire a consultant unless it is unhappy with current progress or solutions. Questions that can help to ascertain this would include:
* Would you say this is a minor irritant or something you’re truly fed up with?
* Why do you feel that now is the time to put extra resources against this?
* How effective have your own efforts been to address this?
* What solutions have been tried already?
And here are two questions to help you understand what your client’s most important issues are. First, “How will you be evaluated at the end of the year?” The answer will tell you exactly what the client’s agenda is.
And, second, if you’re with a prospect or client who seems distracted and unengaged, ask, “What’s the most important thing we should be discussing today?” This question will rapidly refocus the conversation.
Andrew Sobel is the coauthor, with Jerold Panas, of Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others (Wiley, February 2012).
