What Are Great Questions To Ask Clients?
Yes, there are bad questions.
Welcome to my new newsletter. If you want to build a thriving consultancy practice in your niche, I want to help. Please subscribe to my newsletter and check out my other articles. If you enjoy today’s article, then feel free to share it.
Stop Asking Bad Questions
Anybody who says there are no bad questions in a sales or consultancy call is wrong.
Of course, there are bad questions!
In fact, there are lots of bad questions you could ask.
In this post, we’re going to tackle what qualifies as a bad question and the importance of only asking good questions.
Asking great questions is a skill all consultants should possess.
What Is A Bad Question?
Our definition of a bad question is simple.
If you could have found the answer without asking the question, it’s a bad question.
Here’s a simple principle we embrace at FeverBee
The only questions you should ask clients (or prospective clients) are those you couldn’t find the answers to in your research.
For example, if you’re ever asking clients what products/services they sell, what makes them unique, or what the specific individual does at the company, you’re asking bad questions.
Bad questions are generally those which:
Reveal you were too lazy to do basic research.
Haven’t listened to what the client has said.
Reflect a lack of interest or effort.
Where the answer doesn’t matter.
The great thing here is the bar is often so low - even just doing the minimum can make you stand out and earn the client’s respect.
One of the best things you can do is shift from asking bad questions to good questions.
When you begin asking good questions, the level of respect you earn from clients increases immensely.
Great Questions Are Built Upon Good Research
The best questions fill in the blanks between the research you’ve undertaken and the information you need for your methodology.
Great questions begin with good research.
As a general rule, I’d recommend reading:
The organisation’s priorities (as surfaced in investor relations information).
What the organisation sells (go through product demos).
The organisation’s Wikipedia page.
The organisation’s social media accounts for the past few months.
What the organisation’s USP is.
The last few months of press releases.
Anything publicly available related to the challenge you’re solving.
The LinkedIn profiles of the people joining your call.
If you’ve scheduled 30 minutes for a meeting, the client shouldn’t be spending fifteen minutes answering questions you could have answered for yourself.
Instead, you can use the time far more valuably to get the answers you need.
What Is A Great Question?
A quick aside here.
A major temptation when you’ve undertaken the research is to prove you’ve undertaken research by telling the client about all the research you’ve done.
I’d suggest not doing that. It will be implicit by the type of questions you ask anyhow.
The best questions to ask are those where the answers have a direct impact on the project and can’t be uncovered from any channel.
The best questions also highlight your expertise and the unique knowledge you bring to the situation. This helps position you as someone who can offer value - especially doing the sales process.
For example:
“A typical budget for this sort of implementation is usually $200k to $250k. I noticed from the information you sent through that you’re currently only spending $120k. Do you feel a larger budget is possible if we can make a convincing case? If so, who are the stakeholders who make the decision and what do they most care about?”
That’s a question which shows research, has a direct impact on the project, and which would be difficult to find the answers to elsewhere.
Let’s try another example:
“The investor relations report listed seven key goals for the organisation in the following year. In our experience, it’s best for any individual department to stick to one to three goals. Which goals are you accountable for, how are they measured, and how do you prioritise them?
Again this question performs the three key elements of a great question.
It shows you did the research.
It is directly impactful to the project.
It shows you have additional expertise in this area.
This doesn’t mean every question has to be asked in this style (asking quick, simple, questions is fine too).
Carefully Create Questions In Advance
Not long ago, I saw a partner have a list of 10 questions for a client to answer within 30 minutes.
That’s far too many questions to answer.
Worse yet, he was using the same generic list of questions for every stakeholder interview.
This isn’t going to lead to either building a strong relationship or soliciting the information he needs.
At best, you can ask 4 to 5 great questions in a call.
You should plan and prepare your questions in advance. You shouldn’t be asking every stakeholder the same generic list of questions. You should know precisely the information you need from the stakeholder to treat their time with respect.
You should also design good follow-up questions based on the answers to be sure you get the information you need. You can even share the agenda in advance if you like.
Whether you’re in the sales process, the stakeholder interview process or anything else, you should be asking questions for a reason. That reason should be apparent from the very first question.
Every question should be carefully designed to solicit precisely the information you need.
If you’re going in with a generic list of questions (‘so, what do you do here?’) - you’re not doing yourself or your client any favours.
What About Some Soft Question To Get Started?
It’s relatively common to begin any call or interview with some generic icebreaker questions (implicit or explicit) to try and build a relationship before asking the real questions.
Your mileage might vary, but I’ve often found the ‘How was your weekend?’ questions tend to be a formality most people want to just get through so they can begin the real questions.
If you feel you need to ask people how they’re doing or how their day has been, go ahead.
In my experience, it doesn’t forge a relationship the way you might think. Instead, I’d consider opening a call or discussion with something like:
“I want to be respectful of your time, so do you mind if I just dive into the questions I have?”
The only caveat here is if the person you’re speaking with doesn’t know you well. In that case, it’s good to ensure they have the background to why you’re speaking and provide them with an opportunity to ask any questions of their own before you get started.
Aside: If you’re recording the call, be very clear about that and what will happen with the recording.
I’ve found taking this direct approach far more conducive to building a positive relationship than trying to pry into a subject’s personal life.
Summary
Some basic takeaways.
Too many consultants ask bad questions which reflect the lack of research or interest they have in the project.
Asking better questions can help you earn the respect of your clients and build stronger relationships.
You should never be asking questions where you can find the answers online.
Great questions are built upon great research. Do the reading!
A great question fills the gap between your research and your methodology.
Design and carefully select your questions in advance to suit your methodology.
Avoid generic icebreaker questions if you can.
I'm really enjoying these as the advice chimes with me far more than most of this type of article I read. It's nearly always a combination of what I do, what I've thought of doing but not tried, and stuff that I want to try now I've read it. I'm not sure about not asking what makes them unique. Maybe not in those words, but it's one I'll often tackle as often they aren't as special as they think they are. It's often a fruitful area to challenge and explore.