Ask Good Questions

Few tools are more effective for salespeople than a good set of questions.

In truth, everybody benefits from being inquisitive because everybody loves talking about themselves.

You ask questions and people love you.

You ask questions and you learn what problems need to be solved.

And if you learn to ask good questions, there’s no better networking tool and no better way to grab some mentoring by leaders you respect. Leaders appreciate learners.

Today I listened to Michael Hyatt’s This Is Your Life podcast, “Twenty Questions to Ask Other Leaders.”

Hyatt and his cohost Michele Cushatt talked about the importance of asking good questions, especially when you have the good fortune of being around a leader.

I used the list of 20 questions they offer in their podcast’s show notes for an interview I had with an industry leader today.

I actually think it would be a great exercise to ask yourself these 20 questions. If you’re a blogger, then it would make a great series of posts. If you’re a salesperson, it would make a great way to mine your knowledge of your target niche.

Regardless, develop a solid battery of questions for your normal business situations. How can you dig into others’ knowledge, concerns, wisdom on a regular basis? Could you imagine the potential growth in your career or effectiveness if you learn to ask questions that others aren’t asking?

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Today’s Reading and Listening

Duct Tape Selling by John Jantsch

Episode 8: Twenty Questions to Ask Other Leaders – Michael Hyatt and Michele Cushatt, This is Your Life Podcast

Episode 9: Slay Your Dragons Before Breakfast So They Don’t Eat Your Lunch – Michael Hyatt and Michele Cushatt, This is Your Life Podcast 

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This blog is a response to Dan Miller’s unintentional challenge from his podcast on August 15, 2014: If you read or listen to 30 minutes of quality content a day, you’ll double your income. 

From September 1, 2014 through March 1, 2015, I will be doing the following:

1. Listening or reading to 30 minutes of success, growth, business, spiritual, or other mindset-shifting, skill-sharpening content.
2. Selecting one action item from that content (with some leeway to select an action from a previous day’s content).
3. Doing that one action.
4. Writing about the action or some other idea from the reading and listening of the day.