No one has ever asked us that

That's one of the sentences I love to hear in a new business conversation. 

And we hear it pretty often.  Why?  Do we know some secret about their business?  No.  Are we experts in their category?  Maybe, but that's not where the questions come from.

The questions come from not worrying about the sale.  And not already having the next sentence lying in wait in our brains, to drive home a point about us.

They come from listening like a detective, trying to solve a case.  Following leads in the conversation and tugging at every loose end, until we unravel whole story.  It comes from wanting to understand and help them grow their business, not win the account.

We ask a lot of why questions.  "Why are you in a hurry to build sales all of a sudden?"

We ask a lot of what if questions.  "What if we increase inquiries by 25%?  How will you handle that volume increase?"

We ask a lot of questions which frankly are none of a marketing agency's business.  But we do believe they are our business.  We believe agencies who stop at creating solid marketing tools are missing the boat.  We have to help the client anticipate what's coming next.  And often that comes from understanding what has come before.

We probably don't always ask them as delicately as we should.  Instead, we ask with intense curiosity and enthusiasm.  It's a way we demonstrate how we're different.   It's a way we add more value.

I've always believed that one characteristic early adopters have is curiosity.  Most people reading blogs today are early adopters.  So…how do you use your curiosity to help grow your clients business?  What are one or two questions you could ask that would inspire a prospect to say "no one's ever asked us that before."