One of the most important qualities needed by every

Coach and Consultant is a burning curiosity for what makes people tick. Why do they behave the way they do? Why do they get stuck in the same repetitive patterns they know are doing them wrong? What’s really going on inside their heads.

How do you find out? By asking good questions. Now, we’re not sure about you, but we can speak from the experience of our network of successful coaches and consultants … it gets kind of boring asking the same questions over and over and over again.

Here’s a fav … do you ever get tired of asking “What keeps you up at night?” and “If you could wave a magic wand, … “? Try on these 8 more power questions to see if they’re worth keeping in your questioning quiver:

• What is it about your current situation that you don’t like?
• If you could change just one thing, what would it be?
• Tell me how you deal with (name something that you’ve helped someone else overcome).
• What have you tried in the past to fix the problem?
• How fast have things changed?
• If you could solve that problem, what would it help you achieve?
• How much are you willing to invest to solve the problem?
• What role can I play in the solution?

Asking questions should be easy. But many successful coaches and consultants got to where they were in their previous careers by being experts. When you’re an expert on a subject you have a lot to share.

Here is where the hard part comes in … when being an effective coach or consultant, you have to resist the urge to be an expert. You have to forgo sharing what you know in favor of allowing your prospects the opportunity to do the talking. So, how does an expert get better at asking questions? Here are some do’s and don’ts for you:

Let’s start with the Don’ts

1. Don’t talk too much about yourself. You are not important … your prospects are!

2. Don’t give control of the conversation to your prospects just because they ask a question. Answer it briefly, and get back to asking.

3. Don’t settle for “I don’t know” answers. Ask instead “Who does know,” or “How can we find out?”

4. Don’t try to close a deal when prospects are unemotional. Ask questions to hook their emotions.

5. Don’t talk too much. (Yes, that’s on the list twice because it IS that important!)

Now on to the Do’s

1. Do confirm any assumptions you have about prospects or their company early on by asking questions.

2. Do keep control of the conversation by asking good questions. He/she who asks questions is in control.

3. Do keep your cool if your prospects ask you a challenging question. If you’re not prepared to answer it yet, say that followed by, “I need a little more information. Do you mind if I ask you … ?”

4. Do ask, “Is there anything else?” often!

5. Do act confused if you need more information. There’s no such thing as too many questions!

What power questions do you find successful? Maybe this previous post will help you to create a list. Feel free to share and we’ll print your responses in a future post.