Want to see and hear some great questioning techniques in action? Watch TV.
Especially some of the national cable talk shows. And now is a great time with the presidential election just about a year away.
With the fierce competition for audience ratings most of these hosts try to ask the tough questions that get the guest to reveal new information. Chris Matthews of MSNBC's "Hardball" positions himself as a tough questioner. In a promo now running on the network for his show, Matthews says, "My job is to ask questions they've never heard before and make them think out loud."
What a great idea! When you can get them to think out loud, now you're hearing their real feelings and ideas. Watch NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday mornings and you'll see host Tim Russert pose thought-provoking questions. Even though the guests have undoubtedly anticipated and practiced for most of the likely, relevant possible questions, it seems that Russert always tosses a few out that really get them thinking, and sometimes squirming.
Action Step: Keep a pad and pen by your TV. The next time you're channel surfing, stop when you see an interview taking place. Pay close attention to the
specific wording of the questions. When you feel a technique was particularly effective, think of how you could adapt and use it in your own sales situations.
Of course our objective as salespeople is NOT to be as extreme as some of the "attack" journalists who attempt to trap someone into saying something they don't really mean so they can get a good sound bite.
Here's an example of an idea I picked up while watching: We can help the person clarify, in his mind and ours, something they do believe but have not yet clearly articulated, or perhaps even given much thought to. For example,
- "So, what you're saying is ..."
- "What's really happening here is ..."
- "Isn't this, then, really a matter of ...?"
- "Really, what you're telling me is that you've lost over 50 hours worth of production time just within the past month because of line problems. Is that accurate?"
