90% of people forget this?! The essential key to becoming a great questioner.

Many sales staff struggle with these concerns.

At such times, many sales staff say,

They say this.

I understand that feeling, and it is important to increase your repertoire of questions.

However, the reality is that "just increasing your repertoire of questions won't keep the conversation going."

So, what should you do?

The answer is to be conscious of the intent behind your questions.

What does it mean to be conscious of the intent behind a question?
It sounds like it might take a long time to master.

Some of you might think that.

But,

Actually, it is an essential mindset for becoming a great questioner and an efficient way to improve your questioning skills.

Today, we will proceed with the theme ofbeing conscious of the intent behind questions.

If you are asking questions but "the conversation doesn't continue for some reason" or "the customer's response is lackluster," today's content should be helpful to you.

Be conscious of the intent behind your questions.

So, what is the intent of a question?

Who is the question aimed at, and what is its purpose?

It is to be conscious of this.

I think it will be easier to visualize if I provide a concrete example, so please take a look at the following conversation.

Do you think this staff member is conscious of the intent of the question?

The answer is NO.

They likely received advice from a senior colleague to "ask customers lots of questions" and tried to mimic the questions their seniors often use.

Because of that, they just throw out a question and the conversation ends!! That is what happens.

Even though they asked a question, the conversation didn't expand, and they quickly didn't know what to talk about next.
The customer also ends up thinking, "Why is this clerk asking me this? -_-"

If you use a question template without being conscious of the intent of the question, this is what happens.

Conversely, if you were conscious of the intent of the question, the conversation would likely go like this.

The intent behind the question "Are you shopping today?" is

to learn about their "shopping status at other stores" or "the reason for their visit".

What do you think is different between conversation A and B?

That's right!!

The response after the customer's reply

is different.

Because there is an intent to learn about their "shopping status at other stores" or "the reason for their visit", you can expand the conversation even after the customer says "Oh, yes."

A question does not reach the goal (purpose) in a straight line with just one question.

You gradually approach the goal (purpose) while repeating various questions.

Here is an image of that ↓↓

In that case, if there is no goal (purpose), you will get lost wondering which path to take and how to proceed. If there is a goal (purpose), you can move toward the goal even while getting lost on the way.

Being conscious of the intent of a question is the same thing as asking a question while being conscious of the goal.

Also, at first, it is okay just to be conscious of it.

Ask yourself, 'What is the purpose of this question?' Try asking yourself that. By making that question a habit, you can further polish your questioning skills.

I would be happy if you could give it a try.

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Thank you for reading until the end.
If you found this relatable or helpful, I look forward to your likes and follows.
If you have any questions, I would be happy if you could let me know in the comments.

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