A Questioning Mind Helps You
Learn More & Achieve Better Results
questioning mind: open to new possibilities
Applying a questioning mind to improving your marketing will help on your journey to success.A questioning mind is based on the belief that not only is it possible...it is important...to challenge the status quo.
Also part of this belief is the understanding that just because things have always been done in a specific way, there are other...perhaps better...ways of doing them.
Prevents Hardening of the Attitudes
This common condition arises when attitudes, beliefs and ideas go unchallenged.At one point, I had as a client a farmer who spent most of his time alone doing the chores on his large dairy farm.
During the course of the day, he would come up with an idea that he would ponder for the rest of the day.
By the time he was able to meet me...or anyone else he thought would listen...his idea was virtually cast in stone.
Left unchallenged, this man's ideas took on the nature of self-evident undeniable truths.
It's the same thing that happens when a very strong-minded person is surrounded by people who automatically agree with whatever he or she says.
Unchallenged ideas usually grow into hardened attitudes...perhaps to withstand the challenge of questioning minds.
Sound ideas on the other hand are invariably improved and strengthened by the challenges of a questioning mind.
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Improve Everything You Do...
Even Those Things You Do Well
In today's quickly changing world, few things are permanent...virtually everything can be improved.
A questioning mind is the starting point for continuous improvement.
The most obvious and logical times for raising questions is when achieved results failed to meet expected results.
When results are disappointing, a fairly common approach is to find some one to blame.
However, a better...and more productive...approach is to question what...not who...produced the disappointing results.
Once you know what produced the results, you will know what not to do again. You can then question what must be done to bring about your desired results.
Similarly, when projected or expected results seem unreasonable, it is also a good time to raise some questions.
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Five Ws (and one H)
The easiest approach to questioning a situation or event is the classic approach widely used in journalism and police investigations.In practice this means asking questions that start with one of the following 5 words:
- Who...
- What...
- Where...
- When...
- Why...
- How...
These questions encourage lengthy and detailed answers....which helps identify client's needs and expectations.
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The Questioning Mind & Marketing
The same kind of questions will help you gather the information you need to make critical marketing decisions at every step of the process.Your Niche Market
- Who are my ideal clients?
- Where are they?
- How can I help them?
Action Plans
- What results do I want to achieve?
- How can I achieve these results?
Communications
- Who do I want to send a message to?
- What do I want to tell them?
- How will I send the message? When will I send the message?
- When will I send the message?
Prospecting
- Who are my prospective clients?
- Where are they?
- How can I connect with them them?
Internet Marketing
- How can I use the Internet for marketing purposes?
Client Service
- What do my clients need, want and expect from me?
- How can I satisfy my clients?
Referrals
- Who might make referrals to me?
- How can I help them refer new clients to me?
How To Improve Your Questioning Mind
The best way to learn to improve your ability to question things is to ask more questions.Obviously it's easier to question yourself than to question others.
To improve your questioning ability, start by asking yourself some or all of the Five Ws (and one H) questions.
If this generates the information you need...great.
If your questions don't generate the information you need...ask some who you think should know the answer.
If that person can't answer your question, you can search for the answer together.
Remember that when asking questions...the only stupid questions are the questions that don't get asked.
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