A lot of people ask a lot of dumb or stupid questions such as "What day is Christmas?" My florist shared this one with me.
Another is "Where is the elevator to the Grand Canyon's floor?" National Park Service seems to have its share of dumb questions. I especially like the one asked of the Park Service Rangers: "All I see are entrance signs. Where are the Exit Signs?"
Did you know that there is even a day designated to asking stupid questions? Yes, that day is September 28.
People ask stupid questions for two reasons: They are truly stupid because they are not actively thinking or they already know the answer.
In business, sometimes we truly need to ask stupid questions within our sales process if we want to achieve our goal to increase sales. The main reason is that no one usually asks the stupid, simple questions because everybody is so busy asking the really smart and complex ones.
And it is the simple and stupid ones that trip us up especially when we are trying to grow the business. One of my favorite stupid questions is "Do you ask for referrals?" You would not believe how many people fail to just ask for referrals. Incredible!
My business consulting and business coaching practice focuses developing human capital through strategic planning, customer loyalty (both internal and external) and increased productivity to revenue. Two of my most, favorite, all time stupid questions are:
- Do you have a strategic plan, a business plan, a sales plan or even an action plan filled with written goals? If the response is positive which is rare, I then ask: And when was the last time you looked at it? Then I listen and watch for those Gotcha behaviors. You know the ones I am referring to when you know that you should be doing something and any idiot know that you should be doing it as well.
- Do you ever see behaviors inconsistent with your strategic plan or where you want to take the business? If so, then what do you do?
Dr. Phil asks a really stupid question with this one: "How is that working for you?" Of course, he knows it is not working, just like I know most businesses do not have a strategic plan, business plan, marketing plan or sales plan and behaviors abound that are not consistent with the strategic plan or where they want to take the business. They are living moment to moment, spraying and praying and hoping to increase sales and change behaviors.
If you truly want to be smart in business and want to increase sales, remember to ask some stupid questions. You might be surprised by the business results.
Do you want to increase sales? Then register for FREE professional sales skills assessment http://www.processspecialist.com/sales-skill-assessment.htm.
Customer loyalty is the strategic advantage. Receive your downloadable Customer Loyalty Audit at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm
Source: www.articlealley.com
