Asking Good Questions is Often More Important than Having all the Answers

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"Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity or undue depression in adversity." -- Socrates, 469 - 399 B.C.

While it is important to provide the prospect / client with as much information as you can, it is also important to find out as much as possible about their business. In doing so, we might think about a strategy for the specific kinds of work on which we would like to partner with clients. The best way to do this is by conducting a Client Needs Assessment. The basis for conducting the assessment is simply to identify the client’s needs and objectives. It will also give you and the client the opportunity to brainstorm and create a plan that the client can clearly see will address their needs and objectives. The key is to strategize and present this information in a way that addresses their questions and concerns before you ask for their business.

HELPFUL QUESTIONS FOR THE CLIENT NEEDS ASSESSMENT:

1. From your perspective, what would be a valuable way for us to spend this time together? 

2. What would be useful for you to know about our firm? 

3. What prompted your interest in our meeting? 

4. In talking to my clients in your industry, I'm struck by a couple of particular issues they are grappling with. These include: [give examples]. How would these resonate with you and your management? 

5. How is your organization reacting to. . .? (a recent, important development in this client's industry or function) 

6. How are you handling. . .? (new competition, low-cost imports, a new regulatory framework, etc.) 

7. Is there is a particular competitor you admire? 

8. Can you tell me what your biggest priorities are for this year? 

9. What are your most significant opportunities for growth over the next several years? 

10. What exactly do you mean when you say. . .? (“risk-averse”, “dysfunctional”, “challenging,” etc.) 

11. Who would you say are your most valuable customers? 

12. What would your best customers say are the main reasons they do business with you? 

13. Why do customers stay with you? 

14. Why do customers leave? 

15. When customers complain, what do they say? 

16. How have your customers’ expectations changed over the past five years? 

17. How would you describe the biggest challenges facing your own customers? 

18. What's the driving force behind this particular initiative? (What is behind the drive to reduce costs, design a new organization, etc.?) 

19. What would “better” (risk management, organizational effectiveness, etc.) look like? 

20. How did you reach the decision to seek outside help? 

21. How much agreement is there, internally, about the problem and the possible solutions? 

22. From your perspective, given everything we've discussed, what would be a helpful follow-up to this meeting?


Top Five Traits Common to Top Relationship Sales People in Any Profession

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1. Optimism - optimistic people are generally more pleasant to be around than their gloomy counterparts, so clients are attracted to upbeat lawyers. Lawyers may be trained to think in terms of worst-case scenarios, but the ones who exude confidence will retain and attract more business. There’s a huge difference between the lawyer who finds a way to win a case and the one trying not to lose. There’s also a great attitude difference between the lawyer finding a way to get a transaction done and the one searching for all of the problems with the deal. 

2. Resilience - it’s the ability to hear no fifteen times before getting a yes. This may conjure up an image of a lawyer badgering a prospective client but I have never given up if an initial approach isn’t successful. In a law practice, winning a client can be a matter of timing. Some relationships take a while to develop, and the clients’ needs change. The business owner who didn’t need your services in January might feel differently in June or October, and you will be remembered favorably if you’ve kept in touch during the intervening months.

3. Self-motivation - some experts say self-motivation is difficult to teach, and this may be true when it comes to reaching external goals like a sales quota or billable hours. But everyone has a desire to meet personally devised goals that really matter to him or her. If you take responsibility for your future and design an action plan with your goals in mind, your internal motivation will propel you to meet those goals. You will also attract the clients whose needs are aligned with yours.

4. Personability - clients gravitate to lawyers they like. A friendly, sociable associate will attract more clients than a surly lawyer who finds meeting people an unpleasant chore. Although some people may be naturally more outgoing than others, anyone can improve his or her social skills through coaching or simply observing how others do it. Research has shown that top sellers come from every personality type, and the best of them work within, not against, their personality type. If you’re not a pit bull, it won’t serve you well to act like one. If you’re a nurturer, learn ways to successfully nurture your clients. Learning to genuinely enjoy your clients, regardless of how naturally outgoing you are, will also help you enjoy your work. And that is contagious.

5. Empathy - this is the underpinning of all Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills. Using emotional radar to discern what makes a person tick is essential. If you’re a good listener, you study body language, and you communicate well, you’re an empathic person. In Myers Briggs tests, the vast majority of lawyers are thinkers rather than feelers. For this group, listening and trying to see the world from the client’s perspective is even more important.