Chris' Blog

Here's 10 of My Best Questions to Ask:

When you ask a question, there are ways to determine whether or not you have a good shot at getting to yes which is by asking qualifying questions first.

Simply stated, you won't get the business if you don't ask (which is why I say that asking for the business is one of marketing's "magic bullets"), but you will increase your chances of getting a positive response if you qualify first.

And frankly, asking for the sale without first determining need, interest, and inclination is rude, presumptive, and off-putting.  Why?  Because offering a solution without first assessing need is like a doctor writing a prescription before the diagnosis - not a good idea for anyone!

Here are some questions that might help you assess the need and get to yes:

1. What is the goal or outcome you want to achieve?  Or as an alternate: If you could wave a magic wand and this issue would be settled to your satisfaction, what would that look like?

2. Who else needs to be involved in this decision?

3. What will happen/what are the consequences if you don't do this?

4. What are the obstacles in your way right now? 

5. What are the resources you have to draw on?

6. What is your timeline for reaching this goal or completing this project?

7. How will you measure success?  How will things be different?

8. Have you tried to solve this problem before, and if so, what happened?

9. Why is this important for you to solve right now?

10. How will you feel once this is complete?

Once these questions have been asked and answered, you can present your solution as an option, because then, ostensibly, you are in a position to make an informed recommendation.

Your prospect will feel more confident in your proposal because you spent the time to really understand the situation before you offered a solution, rather than throwing a one-size-fits-all solution at the problem.

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One of the most common misconceptions I encounter regarding ‘Sound Bites' that one has from 30 to 45 seconds to make one's case.  And, frankly, :45 Seconds may be to long; you run the risk of boring your listener to tears. That's not what you want, is it?

A true ‘Sound Bite' can be delivered in, well, a small bite.

Sound impossible? It's not.  We know that most people have very short attention spans, so you can be sure that 45 seconds of talking "at" your prospect is not what a ‘Sound Bite' is all about.

When dealing with busy people, we just need / want a few seconds to deliver a pitch that would engender enough interest to merit a meeting. That means that we have to say just enough to explain the key benefits of our real estate services to whet the listener's appetite for more details.

Obviously, the your name, company name, title, or any other information connected with your real estate business that doesn't scream "GOTTA HAVE IT" is irrelevant to the initial pitch or 'Sound Bite'. Sound counter-intuitive? I mean, isn't more information better?

More information really isn't better in this case, because if one has only three to four seconds (and trust me, that really is all the time you have to grab someone's attention) one needs to spend that time talking about something that interest's one's audience. And frankly, your audience doesn't care who you are or what your name is until you have convinced them of your value.

Smart writers and producers in Hollywood figured out how to use some sort of shorthand or phrases that made the most of their three to four seconds. For example, how about this eight-word three-second pitch for a movie: "Die Hard on a bus with Keanu Reeves."

What this tells the listener (the person with the power to get this project made) is that the movie being proposed is an action film with the potential for sequels featuring some sort of law officer in a life-or-death struggle with an evil villain, as well as a love interest with a conflict of some sort, and that it has a bankable star attached.

The benefits presented in the ‘Sound Bite' above included comparative revenue expectations ("Die Hard" was a blockbuster, meaning that it made more than $100 million in initial release, and three profitable sequels were made) with the added insurance of a big-name star.

The benefits were immediately obvious, and the only decision to make was whether or not the studio exec wanted to make this blockbuster action movie. If the answer was yes, there was a basis for conversation.

Notice that some important information was left out, enticing the interested listener to ask questions, such as: Who do you see as the love interest? Who do you see as the villain?

And even more information was left out that could be disclosed in the ensuing conversation to set the hook, such as the villain twist: Instead of an international drug kingpin or illegal arms dealer, the villain in this picture is...a disgruntled cop!

Good information, yes, but totally unnecessary until the interest was established, as were the names of the rest of the players and the cost of the project.

Did that movie get made? Yes, it did. "Speed" starred Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper. It's truly forgettable follow up (remember, the "Die Hard" reference promised franchise potential) was "Speed 2," so of course people aren't pitching many movies using "Speed" as a reference to indicate sequel potential.

Kind of a no-brainer way to do business, wouldn't you say?

Want to attract the interest and immediate attention of your ideal clients using this ‘Sound Bite' technique created in Hollywood? Develop a ‘Sound Bite' that presents the most intriguing and meaningful information first, so that continuing the conversation with qualified (interested) prospects is a no-brainer.

Once you've hooked your audience's interest, you can start filling in the details, including your name, your title, your company name, and any other information is pertinent to the discussion.

Okay, the last nine posts in this series were all about accepting and enjoying the positive and negative sides of being human and life itself. Now that you're giggling hysterically at all of your problems, you CAN become 'responsible' for your weaknesses or tendencies. In other words, just because you're human doesn't get you off the hook if you humanity is causing problems for others.

Solution: Discover how your human-ness affects others and make any necessary changes.

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I'd rather be terrific at being a failure than constantly struggle to be a success. Make sense? Being real really is/can become a delightful way to live and experience your life. And if we buy the concept that success is a journey not a destination, It's even more important than success is, in my book.

Solution: Learn to accept who God made you, just as He made you.  You achievement is not who you are, but what you do.  Your identity does not lie in outcomes.

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If you buy the idea that truth is the most attractive thing about becoming attractive, then anything that isn't true is going to make a person less attractive. Most personal development jargon isn't very attractive because it's a manufactured word or meaning that most people who use it cannot translate it into simple English. (That's the fastest way to know if you're using jargon -- if you cannot translate the term into incredibly simple English within 10 seconds that ANYBODY can understand instantly, then you're using jargon.)

Solution: Use simple, simple terms that anyone can understand instantly.

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Euphemisms and 'positive interpretations' are the bane of many people's existence. Rather than call something a problem, they call it a challenge. Rather than call something a @#%& up, they call it a breakdown. Rather than call somebody clueless, they call them well-intentioned. The first step in a healthy life is being honest.  The truth will set us free.

Solution: If something is bad, say so. Don't make it sound less bad than it really is. That would be lying.

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This one is tricky. I see a lot of people aspiring to become more, but it seems to turn into a quest or marathon or a track measured by attaining the next thing.  The challenge then becomes the cycle of disappointment.  You are always chasing your tail looking for fulfillment which is always just around the corner.  Even when markers are achieved, they are fleeting in their enjoyment because they leave a void and don't satisfy.  You can sacrifice everything to gain it all, only to realize it doesn't mean anything.

Solution: Master the art of being content without being complacent.

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As you adopt healthier personal OS, your antennae will be able to better detect earlier who's real and who isn't. This happens because you're understanding yourself more. Pretty soon, you'll come to recognize and feel the extremely high costs of spending much time with those who are still trying to impress, compensate or strive and you'll naturally steer clear. In the meantime, however, don't be surprised is your Rolodex gets smaller, but FAR more valuable.

Solution: Make a list of the people in your life that are not genuine or authentic. Then identify the reasons (which may well be important/valid) why they are in your life.

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This one is also tricky, because most of us are very much defined by the roles we adopt or which have been given to us: child, mother, father, provider, sibling, boss, employee, client, vendor, professional, educator, expert, etc.

Solution: Can you be yourself if you had no role in life? Better yet, who would you be?

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There is a place to get to in life where you can laugh at virtually every aspects of yourself (strengths, weaknesses, habits, failures, IQ-level, lifestyle, behaviors, blind spots, successes) and also at life itself. This is an amazing place because you're in tune with how absurd it all is anyway. When you get to this place, you are very much in sync with yourself and life, you don't take much very seriously, and you really can enjoy life despite the issues in it.

Solution: remember - not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

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