Beautiful Questions for Storytellers

Trying to figure out how to get really under the skin and explode the authenticity in a person's story can be a short road to the counsellor’s couch (for both parties).  But it doesn’t need hours of therapy and drum thumping.  Just try asking the right question.

Here are 61 Beautiful questions, and my best guess at why they work, that can help you get to the heart of a person’s story

1. Are you saying…?
Identifies someone’s language patterns.

2. Are you willing to…?
Tests someone’s limits.

3. Can you give me…?
Encourages examples and specifics.

4. Can you remember…?
Taps into someone’s memory.

5. Did you ask…?
Questions someone’s questions.

6. Have you considered…?
Non-threatening proposal of options.

7. Have you given any thought to…?
Suggestive, yet doesn’t sound like advice.

8. Have you thought about…?
Forces someone to think!

9. How are you constantly…?
Promotes consistency of action.

10. How are you creating…?
Proves that someone has a choice.

11. How can you become…?
Future oriented, motivational.

12. How can you make…?
Enlists someone’s creativity.

13. How could you have…?
Focused on past performance improvement.

14. How do you feel…?
Feelings are good.

15. How do you measure…?
Clarifies and specifies someone’s statement.

16. How do you plan to…?
Future oriented, process oriented, action oriented.

17. How do you want…?
Visualizes ideal conditions.

18. How does this relate to…?
Keeps someone on point, uncovers connections between things.

19. How else could this be…?
Encourages open, option-oriented and leverage-based thinking.

20. How long will it take to…?
Clarifies time specifics.

21. How many different ways…?
Enlists someone’s creativity, explores various options.

22. How many people…?
Clarifies and specifies.

23. How might you…?
All about potential and possibility.

24. How much energy…?
Identifies patterns of energy investment.

25. How much money…?
Identifies patterns of financial investment.

26. How much time each day…?
Identifies patterns of (daily) time investment.

27. How much time…?
Identifies patterns of energy investment.

28. How often do you…?
Gets an idea of someone’s frequency.

29. How well do you…?
Uncovers abilities.

30. How will you know when/if…?
Predicts outcomes of ideal situations.

31. If you could change…?
Visualizes improvement.

32. If you had to…?
Possibility thinking.

33. If you showed your…?
Imagining what others would say.

34. If you stopped…?
Cause-effect question.

35. If you were…?
Ideal situation

36. In what areas…?
Searching for multiple answers.

37. Is anybody going to…?
Deciding if something even matters.

38. Is there any other…?
Challenges someone to find ONE more answer.

39. Is there anything else…?
Yep, there probably is. Answers are rarely absolute.

40. Is your idea…?
Forces someone to think objectively.

41. On a scale from 1 to 10…?
Putting a number to an emotion clarifies it.

42. What are some of the…?
Encourages list making.

43. What are the biggest mistakes…?
Negative based for preventative measures.

44. What are the keys to…?
Searching for best practices.

45. What are the patterns of…?
Uncovering commonalities.

46. What are the things that…?
Because there’s probably more than one answer.

47. What are the ways…?
Freedom (not) to resign to one solution.

48. What are you currently...?
Assesses present situations.

49. What are you doing that…?
Assesses present actions.

50. What are you willing to…?
Explores limits.

51. What can I do to…?
Demonstrates a desire to serve.

52. What can WE do to…?
Partnership-oriented.

53. What can you do right now…?
Focuses on immediate action being taken.

54. What can you do today…?
Focuses on daily action being taken.

55. What causes your…?
Uncovering true motives without the dreaded, "Why?"

56. What challenges are…?
Identifies barriers.

57. What did you learn…?
Because people don’t care what you know; only what you learned.

58. What do you need to…?
Needs assessment.

59. What does that tell you about…?
Encourages someone to figure out the answer individually.

60. What else can you…?
Because there’s always options.

61. What evidence…?
Because specificity is persuasion.

Innovation is about telling a new story

Lots of people get confused over the concept of innovation. Many think its all  about new product development, patenting stuff,  Intellectual property. That is just a part of it and, to be honest a very small part.  The big and most significant impact is more commonly  in the small stuff that sometimes just sneaks up on you.

To give you an example  I was doing one of my a Free of Friday workshop sessions last week for a group of  craft artists who are looking at setting up a cooperative to share marketing expenses and sanity. An interesting concept in itself but that wasn’t what we were really talking about that day. 

All of them wanted to give up their day jobs but they couldn’t afford to make that final jump. It’s the commonest problem my new start clients have;  Working evenings, weekends and nights to build their passion into a viable business and their parachute. But, as they say, why would you jump out of a perfectly good plane? 

Here's a possible scenario:

Let’s say you currently you have 10 clients who pay you an average of £100 each/month = £120K total income per year. To get to those figures you did certain marketing activities and got a total of 20 sales meetings, of which 

you converted 50% of them into paying clients. (although it’s probably more like  a quarter.)

So we asked the beautiful question (s) What would happen if you changed the story, just a little?

What would  happen if ....by improving your marketing activities you now are able toget 25 sales meetings? That's a 25% increase.  So before you start anything you get at least one extra sale  a month.  That’s doable, right?

What would happen if.... you had an even better selling process  so that you are now able to convert 50% of those meetings into orders? That's a 100% increase, and to be honest is again pretty straightforward, especially if your marketing is now attracting better prospects. 

and Finally, what would happen if ... you increased your order per client to £120 per month, using the ‘would you like fries with that approach? You get a 20% increase in sales value for the same sales process.

So, what happens is this ... if you add all this up, you now have 17 to 19 new clients a year paying you a total of over £200K per year.  You work out the maths if you don’t believe me.

This is an approach that really works, and that, my friends, is real down and dirty innovation. Little bits here and there that make a massive difference to your profits and your life balance.

So, here’s a thing....

I challenge you you to look at your current marketing activities, your selling process and the financial results from last year, and set a goal to double your income in the coming year with this strategy. 

For those very serious about doubling your business this year, I invite you to pop into one of our to the Free on Friday workshops where I work with you hand-in-hand to learn the skills and implement the steps that will produce the results.  Or subscribe to the big idea newsletter. up there on the right of this page.

Or, if you would a like a copy of ‘What are the most five important things that can double your income and what to do about them?’ drop me a line and I’ll happily send it on to you.  You can reach me here. barryrainmaker@mac.com

Why most small businesses fail. Are you sitting comfortably

 

 

The stories of the new business ventures are filled with both triumph and disaster. Of unlikely heroes, of monsters that need to be vanquished and, hopefully, the fairy tale ending. Although, statistically, that particular ending is not that often.

So why do businesses fail? Here are a few areas you may like to think about.

 

No 1 reason is not understanding what their customer really wants and how you can add value to that need. Without having a product that people really want and access to the resources to make it work profitably there is no business.

 

No 2 is business plans that are too detailed too early.

 

No 3 is a real appreciation that no previous boss, no matter how bad, will be as demanding as the bosses you will face minute by minute, your customers, your spouse and significant others, and probably most of all, your own standards.

 

No 4. is focus. Keeping on doing what you need to do when you need to do it and not being distracted by other opportunities.

 

No 5 a lack of mentoring and open mindedness to receiving advice. The beauty of advice is you can choose to us it or loose it.

 

No 6. Developing patience as a skill set and end in itself.

 

no 7. No matter what business you are in you really are not in the business you are think you are in but in the business of marketing that business, first and foremost.

 

No 8 Thinking that there is such a thing as free marketing.

 

No 9 Not understanding that marketing is about every interaction you have with your customer.

But above all I would  say it is this final one, because until you have that you cannot hope to tell the your customers why you are different and why they should trust you to solve their problem: and then, ask them to buy and to keep on buying

 

No 10 Crafting the right stories to tell and telling them with clarity

Dad, tell me a story

Came across this great blog site in the twittersphere about dads and kids and storytelling.

http://dadtellmeastory.com/

For any professional person finding any way we can enhance our storyelling skills, to help persude, influence or motivate, has to be of value. This is an interesting example of how blurring the lines between the skills we use in our work and home lives can bring big benefits and fulfillement  in both areas.  Because, curiously, the same principles work in both places; developing the idea of a story together means a higher level of participant engagement, and also, two heads are invariably better than one. Occassionaly it may not work but then so do most ideas.

I think it presents us many major lessons in how we develop and encourage innovation and change.

So go buy his book!! I just have.