Attitude of A Student

“Take the attitude of a student, never be afraid to ask a question, never know too much to learn something new.”

• Og Mandino (1923 – 1996), American author of The Greatest Salesman in The World

A friend (also in da consulting bidness) and I met for lunch yesterday, and we spent a ton of time on answers. He’s a 30+ year career ops guy – a real talent and exceptional problem solver. I’m a 40-year sales and leadership guy – during our combined 70+ years, we’ve seen a lot of things, as the insurance commercial says.

Some of our Clients and potential Clients are a generation younger than we are. If we take the professor’s attitude too early in the engagement, it can come off heavy-handed and, depending on the young exec’s confidence, may even be unintentionally arrogant.

That’s why questions matter so much!

“How much would you charge for that, Steve?” I usually know. I almost never answer with that information, however. “If that problem were solved, completely, how much would it be worth to you?” is my usual response.

Questions make sure we keep it about them. Questions, not only help us stay focused on the outcome they need, they force us to consume knowledge, information, or context. We may not be learning a new formula. We may not be learning a new method or approach. We may, and likely will, however, be learning more about the Client, more about their motivation, fears, hopes and dreams.

A kid named Mason manages a convenience store about a block from my home. I think I’d hire him tomorrow if I were still in a corporate gig. He asks excellent questions. He asks them in a non-threatening way. He remembers the answers. He treats me like visiting royalty and remembers what we talked about the last time I stopped in for a bag of ice or a tank of gas. More often than not, it’s a bag of ice. During a series of $2.79 transactions, he’s drawn me into his sphere of influence because he gives a darn.

Most of us probably give a lot of darns. And our best way to prove that is to ask instead of tell, and ask when it’s time to tell. “What if we tried ______________, Mr. Client? How would that feel.”