You’ve probably heard the saying that there’s no such thing as a dumb question—except the one you have but don’t ask. Based on that, you might assume that prospective clients understand your need to learn about their issues and so give you license to pose dumb questions.
You can get away with that to some extent in client meetings. But clients expect you to learn fast, and will evaluate your capabilities accordingly. If the depth of your questions doesn’t improve with each one, look out.
Before you ask your client a question, think about these three points:
- Will your question really improve your understanding of the client’s issue?
- Will it encourage the client to think more deeply about the matter?
- Will your question lead the client to ask you questions about your ideas?
An ideal client question furthers your understanding of the situation, adds some value for the client, and shows that you know your stuff. Of course, not everything you ask needs to cause your clients to stroke their chins and ruminate on a response; you design some questions solely to gather basic information.
There are dumb questions, and you get to ask a limited number of them in any client meeting. Make sure that you ask them early on if you want to be around to win the sale.
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