As animal based business owners, asking better questions is a critical part of our success. It helps us to better understand our audience, build relationships, uncover their motivations, and look for opportunities to provide even better results.

By asking better questions, we can not only learn more about our own business, but also discover ways to meet other needs and add value. It's a great way to foster a deeper understanding of the people we are working with, and to open up conversations about the animals we are all passionate about.

We all have unique experiences, insights, and perspectives to share, and asking better questions can help us to draw out those elements of our client's story to better understand their needs and uncover opportunities that we may not have considered before.

Asking better questions can be an invaluable tool for any animal based business owner, and it's an easy way to get the most out of our conversations with our clients.

Welcome to The Business Animal podcast. Saddle up for a

gallop to the top of the animal industry, where you'll learn how

to tame your wild business beast, with tips, techniques,

and tools that will take overwhelm to obedience school,

and have you wagging your tail with joy. And now your hosts,

Kim Beer, and Cara Taylor Swift.

Hey there business animals. It's Kim with

Be More Business

and Cara with Fast Horse photography. Hi, Kim.

Hey, Cara, how are you doing today? You know,

I'm okay hanging in here. My I just took

my dog out and threw the Frisbee. And I'm hoping she's

done with her after Frisbee. She does this thing where she sits

next to me and pants. So I'm just going to apologize to

anyone here. Here's Labrador panting in the background. It

comes from a good wholesome place.

Nice. So she had a good wholesome morning. Oh,

goodness. So we have a really interesting topic today. So I

say we dive right in. Because this is a great topic. What are

we talking about today? Well, we're

talking about asking better questions. And I

think people are probably wondering, like, why are you

having this topic? Obviously, we need to ask questions. But the

big thing is, is that I found in my business, I don't know about

you can but the better I am at asking questions to my potential

clients, the better I am at fulfilling their needs and

understanding where my business needs to go.

Absolutely. And you know, I have my little book

that I wrote, and I'll give a shameless plug to the little

book of big sales to us, which you can buy on my website at

bemorebusiness.com for only $10. And that includes shipping and

handling. So go buy it right now. But one of the things and

one of the reasons why I'm excited about this topic is

because my number one selling move is three thoughtful

questions. And I will tell you, as I have gone and worked in

sales and marketing and business development, I can tell you my

ability and art form in asking questions has improved

dramatically over the years. And with every improvement of this

particular skill, my business gets better my sales get better,

everything gets better, my customer satisfaction gets

better. So asking better questions can certainly lead you

to a lot of better places.

Absolutely. And I think it's one of those

things that as business owners, that through practice, and

through being thoughtful, we can actually get better at it. It's

one of those things that we get better and better at it. And I

definitely don't think that business owners, especially when

they're having interactions with their clients that they ask

enough questions.

No, they don't. And the thing is, is that in

particular, when you're doing sales, if you don't ask enough

questions, or you don't ask the right questions, you end up

doing all the selling. And I am just going to read you one

little paragraph here from my book about this sales move with

the three thoughtful questions. The easiest sales are made, when

consumers come to the conclusion they need to buy your product or

service before you even start your sales pitch. The way to set

this easy sell up is to ask them questions that lead them to

discover why they need what you're selling. And that is the

absolute truth. And in the process of it is you are

building rapport with those clients because they finally

feel heard, they feel seen. And they are the ones that end up

selling themselves. And all you have to do is sit back and just

simply be more aware of the questions that you ask and lead

those questions in the appropriate direction and your

customer will do all of the work to sell themselves. Now, who

doesn't want to do that versus pitching and trying to figure

out how to manipulate people into buying and worrying about

all your sales language when you let them convince themselves.

You don't have to worry about any of those things.

Well, and that's because you're also

you're taking the time to let them tell you their why you're

taking the time to then understand their why like why

did they contact you today, there's a reason. And it's not

just because they want to give you their credit card, right?

There's a bigger emotional or a bigger need that has to be

addressed and taking the time to better understand that is going

to help you in so many different ways. better meet the needs of

your clients. So it's gonna help you better understand their

need. It's going to help you understand why they came to you

today. It's going to help you build a relationship between the

two of you. I mean, just having a conversation where you're

asking questions is relationship building, and you're building

that rapport with them. It's gonna help you provide better

results because you actually understand what they Need and

that you have the solution for it. Or maybe you don't have the

solution, but you're going to understand that by taking that

time. And finally, it's going to help you look for opportunities

where you can meet other needs that they have and other ways

that you can add value to their experience. I mean, to me, that

creates raving fans, when you can ask questions, really, truly

understand where they're coming from, and what they need, and

then provide the appropriate service that fits that. And then

you're adding extra value by being able to find other ways

that you can help them and other ways that you meet need, they're

going to want to come back to you next time.

Absolutely. And there's one other little

psychological thing I'd like to mention right here. And that is

that we are all our own favorite subject. As much as we would

probably like to deny that we truly do like talking about

ourselves and sharing about our lives. It's what makes us feel

connected to everyone around us. And when you as a person in a

business, are taking enough interest in your consumers to

ask them questions, whether it be focused on sales or

exploration or research, or just simply figuring out if you could

have a different or better business process, that is

putting them front and center. And every single person on this

planet likes to be held in that space from time to time, if not

often. So it's really hugely beneficial psychologically to

them. And what's funny is that, especially in sales, when you

turn your sales system around to asking questions versus giving

pitches, your customers feel like they had so much better of

an experience, and that they learned so much more. But here's

the thing, they didn't learn necessarily anything more from

you. They learned it all from themselves, which is so cool.

Well, and you're asking those questions,

too, that's helping them identify what their needs are.

And they're kind of absolutely your own solution by through

that communication that they're giving you that they're in need

of your service, you know, and you're able to kind of fill in

the gaps. So I love that I know, we want to jump into our big

three. So if you're okay with it, I'll just list off our big

three. And then I want to do just a little thing on like, the

different types of questions if that's okay,

absolutely. Take it away. Okay.

So our big three today is to start by

asking yourself, you know, what is the motivation for asking the

question? And we'll dig into that. Number two is ask

questions that beg for a longer answer. And number three is

become an excellent listener. So one of the things when I was

thinking about this episode, is I came across a really cool

article from the Harvard Business Review that talks about

the four different types of questions. And I had never, I

don't know about you can, but I had never really thought that,

that when you're having conversations with people that

there are different levels of conversation. So the first one

is called introductory questions. So that's going to be

like your Hi, how are you? Or Hello, how are you doing? It's a

very simple question, followed by the next set of questions,

which is your mirror question. So it might be something like,

Oh, I'm doing good, how are you? So you're kind of mirroring back

to them? Then you have which I think a lot of conversations do

this, you move into your full switch questions, which are the

questions that change the topic. So that might be something like,

Well, tell me why you call today? Or how can I help you? Or

where did you hear about our services, you're just kind of

moving them into the real, what I would consider the meat and

potatoes of the conversation that you're about to have, which

is your follow up questions. And these are the ones that we're

focusing on today, the most powerful, and there were as

business owners, we really need to focus on our growth, because

this is how we get all of the information that we need to

provide services to our clients and to really meet their needs.

So these are the questions that let us know that we're listening

to them. They're the questions that help us understand more and

let our clients know that we want to know more. They're the

questions that are going to let our clients know that we

actually care about their needs, that we care about their animal

and that we're interested in them. And they're the questions

that like Kim was referring to, they're the ones that are going

to make people understand that we respect them or help them

feel respected, and help the client feel heard. So when I

started thinking about this, I was like we absolutely those

follow up questions. That's where we have to focus this

episode. So then you move that into what is your motivation for

asking this question? Kim, do you want to take it from there?

I do. So I do want to talk about that because

here's the thing. customers know when you're being manipulative

at some level, and if you're asking questions with a

motivation, that is just simply to manipulate them into buying

something, the energy in that transaction between you and them

is going to be really apparent So you need to set yourself

straight a little bit in finding out what is your motivation for

actually asking that question. If you're asking the question

because you want to manipulate them into a purchase, it's

probably not the right motivation. And you need to

reset that. Because when you approach questioning from a

place of curiosity, versus a place of self gain, then you

start to really be able to build rapport with who you're across

from. The other thing you need to do when you think about what

is your motivation for asking this question, sometimes the

motivation is to learn more about that individual to learn

more about their situation, so you can better customize what it

is that you have in your business to serve them. But

also, we may need to get better questions to get them into the

exact right product or right service. Or we may need to have

motivations to ask detailed questions around things that

allow us to deliver for that specific individual. So there's

a lot of motivations that are pure and good, that are around

asking those questions. But I want you to check your ego at

the door and check your needs at the door, when it comes to

asking those questions. And the way that you get better at this

is by doing that. So you can ask questions that are specifically

designed and motivated to help that customer achieve something

better, whether that's with your product and service or not?

Well, yeah, because sometimes that you are

literally qualifying them as clients like this is your

opportunity to determine what their needs are, and if they're

even a good fit for your business. And you've got to ask

questions to determine that, I think a big mistake is when we

get people on the phone, and we immediately start talking about

our process, or we immediately start talking about our service.

And then we get 10 minutes into the conversation and realize

that they don't live anywhere near us. So they're not eligible

for our service, because we're not going to go to travel that

far. Or that, you know, for me, I'm a I'm someone who

photographs, people with their horses, I don't supply horses

for photography. So I get people that contact me frequently

asking me if, you know, I have horses that they can use for

their maternity shoot, for example. And if I go through my

whole process, and then we find out halfway through that they

don't have a horse than I need to qualify them as actual

clients. So I think that's a big piece of it. You're so right.

And then, you know, moving into asking questions that beg for a

larger answer that next of our big three, there's so much to

that. And one of the biggest things that I have found, is it

okay to think about your questions in advance and to

prepare some questions to get you started and practice those

questions. Because you do have to get certain information from

your clients. And so it's okay to kind of be prepared for that.

Absolutely. I am all for thinking up those

questions in advance both the ones that start the

conversation, and the ones that further the conversation along

for that specific client. I do have some things that I do like

to say around this subject of asking questions that beg for

that longer answer, because I will tell you one thing and that

longer answer is all the data and information that you need to

know to make that customer happy. Now there may be a choice

where you say, just like you said, with the qualifying

clients, you may say you may be happy or somewhere else. But

you're going to get the data and the information. But the only

way for you to do that is to ask open ended questions. If you ask

people yes or no questions. There are questions that can be

answered with a yes or a no, those are called closed ended

questions. When you ask those kinds of questions. The person

on the other end of that conversation doesn't share any

more of their story. And yes or no always comes with shades of

grey. So there's always more to the story. And a single word is

not going to get you everything that you need to know, out of

particularly a sales conversation. So I always say I

want to have open ended questions. For example, this is

one in sales, I see a lot of people ask people, Well, are you

ready to purchase now? Or can I go ahead and fill out the sales

form or whatever that case happens to be sorry, that

doesn't work. People then have a choice between yes or no. And

it's a very easy choice for them to make. What you want to do is

you want to give them a little bit more latitude and you want

to be able to learn along the way. So instead of saying that

you can give them an either or like, Would you like me to wrap

that up for you or would you like to just go ahead and carry

it out as is or would you like me beautiful over it. So you

have a whole like set of choices for them. But even better than

that, is, when you ask them a question that gives them an

opportunity to go even further. So one of my favorite ways to

sort of further that sale to kind of further that example,

would be to say, if you were going to choose a package, from

my services that we've talked about, which one do you think

would be the best fit for you? And why? And just ask the and

why. And you're gonna get a really long answer that's going

to fill you in on exactly where they are. And right in that

you're going to learn a bunch of stuff, right? You're going to

learn where their push backs are, you're going to learn where

their motivations, their gain points are, where their pain

points are, you're going to learn what their specific goals

are, you're going to learn about what they think or need from

your service. I mean, it's gold, all of that stuff is gold. A

couple of other little tips that I have are also to speak your

customer's language. As people who live in industries that have

their own vernacular, we tend to talk in our industry, slang and

vernacular, our customers don't always share that. So if your

customers don't, then you need to talk their language. And

always be willing to dig deeper by following up. So when you ask

a question, and somebody gives you the answer, then I know it's

not a good listening skill to listen to respond. But do catch

on to where you could respond to that, or even better. And this

is the even better, ask another question that allows you to dig

deeper, and follows up on that particular answer that they gave

you.

That's excellent. And I think about I

mentioned above the practice piece of that. And the reason I

say practice is because I do think there is something to be

gained for practicing the questions and practicing the

words, the actual words that you will use, like you said, the

vernacular, they're using that language and getting comfortable

using it. Because when you're talking to them, you don't want

it to sound like you're quizzing them, or that you are

interviewing them, or that you want or that you're going

through a checklist of questions, you know, you have

questions and you need information. But you want to be

able to use a neutral tone, a conversational tone, a friendly

tone in order to get there. And the more you can practice those

words coming out of your mouth and be comfortable with the

language that you want to use, the easier that's going to be

for you. I also suggest at this time to be really careful about

asking leading questions like you really want to get to the

root of what the issue is, without inputting what you think

they need, or where you think they're going with that. So by

asking questions that aren't leading questions, you can more

accurately I think, get to that point. I also think that when

you're thinking about the questions that you're going to

ask, you want to structure them, so that you are getting in an

order of importance in in a way that really kind of naturally

leads to your next question. So for example, I might be talking

to a potential photography client. And I might say

something like, Well, why don't you tell me a little bit about

your horse to kind of get them talking, like Kim said earlier,

people love to talk about themselves, they really, really

like to talk about their animals, and they will talk to

you all day about their animals. But then my next step might be

after that, well, what do you like to do with your horse? You

know, how do you spend your time together? It feels like kind of

a fluffy question in that, how does that have to do with

photography, but the truth is, is I'm getting to know them, I'm

getting to know how they like to spend their time with their

horse, I'm getting to know how they value their horse in their

life. And all of that comes back to the wall, or they might put

on their walls one day, or how they're going to use their

images. So I think about my questions, and I'm moving them

in a way that gets me to another question, which might be well,

how would you anticipate using the images that we create

together? What spaces in your home do you think would be best

to display wall art? So I'm working my way there, but I'm

getting there in a way that is really natural, and is taking

the client through that series of questions. I also say each of

your questions should have a purpose. So I'm not just gonna

randomly start asking questions like they need to have a

purpose. That's all kind of directing them down the road.

Does that make sense of what I'm saying him?

It does? It does, because we do have a tendency

sometimes to get off on chit chat, especially back in the

beginning of the conversation where you have those four types

of questions and you have the mirror question, because

sometimes the answer to the mirror question will lead you

off the topic which is really like it can go down a rabbit

hole, right? And then you don't get to the topic that you really

need to be talking about. But you as an intelligent person

who's listened to this podcast and now knows how to ask better

questions, is going to know how to re guide that conversation

right into the place that you want it to go. And then allow

it, the important thing is not just to guide it, but then to

allow it to go where it needs to go. And I think that brings us

to the last and most difficult proposition of this entire

podcast episode. And that is to become an excellent listener.

Our culture is really built around not listening. We have it

drilled into us as kids, that we need to respond, and we need to

respond quickly. And we don't practice a lot of asking

questions, but we practice to the nth degree responding. And

so as the person who is learning how to ask better questions, a

big part of that is learning how to be a better listener, which

means that you have to listen more than you talk in these

conversations. And that is hard, especially if you're an

extrovert. Because being an extrovert, we process everything

that we intake through our mouths. In other words, I always

say it has zero filter between my ears and my mouth, there's

like, the filter is so thin, because when it comes in, it has

to go back out for me to process it completely. But that derails

your conversations sometimes. So as an extrovert, we have to

practice really hard at learning how to process internally. So

which introverts do naturally. So we need to learn and practice

that skill, of being able to process without speaking, so

that we can allow the other person to go ahead and finish

talking. And one more point on this, and then I'll, I'll let

you take over because you have a good list here for people for

learning how to listen better. One of the biggest lessons I had

in listening actually came from a fiction book, it's about the

Indian nations, it's about Navajos, it's written by, I

cannot remember the author's name, I had it right before I

opened my mouth, it was in my brain, and now it's gone. But he

writes books about the Navajo detectives, you all will know

who it is, if you've read this gentleman, and his name is not

important to the conversation. What the important part of the

conversation is, is that in Navajo tradition, you don't

speak for a certain period of time after somebody else

finishes speaking, just in case they want to add something or

just in case they're not completed with their thought.

And they wanted to take a pause to compose themselves. And I

really wish we would adopt more of that beautiful tradition into

our high pitched Western culture gotta get shit done attitudes,

to where we took the time to just simply be quiet, and allow

the other person to be able to cannot only complete their

thought, but see if there's anything else that they would

like to add. Because I can tell you, if you practice that, in

the in between when you really want to speak up and respond,

and you allow it, there's so much, it's when people go

deeper, they give you that response, because it's what

we've been trained to do in our schools, we're trained to give

responses quickly and fastly and with as much detail as possible,

and we rehearse them and we know them. And then when we get asked

that we sort of regurgitate that response. And then if the person

on the other side of the conversation doesn't talk, then

we want to fill that space with something. And we will fill it

with things that are really deep and profound many times if the

other person doesn't just jump right in, and respond back. And

so I think we should try to adapt that more in our world. So

take it away, Cara, you've got a you've got some really good

suggestions here for listening better.

That's such a good point. Because I think that

we do have to give people space to answer our questions. And a

lot of times, we feel like we have to fill empty space or

empty air with something. And sometimes it's just a matter of

just giving a little bit of space will prompt them to fill

in further details that we need. Before you even have to ask a

follow up question. So yeah, I think that's such a good point.

And I think with that, taking the time to recognize how much

talking you might be doing in the conversation can be really

huge. I find that when I'm talking with potential new

clients on the phone, I'll go through my questions and then

there's a segment where I say to them, okay, well, let me tell

you a little bit about my process and we can then discuss

if you feel like that's a good fit for you. And so I will start

doing my process and it can be a little long winded. And I will

be aware of that, and looking for ways continuously to kind of

like ask a question and pull them into that process to

determine if it's a good fit for them. But I do find myself

continuously kind of now being aware of how much talking I'm

doing, and trying to find ways to have it more conversational

versus me just explaining the process to them. And I also try

when I'm going through that, because it can be a long winded

speech for me to refer back to things that they have told me.

So I'm referring back to maybe areas in their home where they

think they might want wall or or concerns they have about their

horse or their child being photographed, or questions that

they had and making sure that I'm answering those when I'm

going through that process. Those are probably the biggest

things that we haven't covered already. But I just think it's

really important. If you can take the time to think about and

practice being a good listener, it will actually help you ask

better questions in the end. And part of that is just because

you're spending the time listening, which helps you then

understand what you need to ask next. And can mentioned also,

you know, not thinking about what you're going to say next

while they're talking like, actually spend the time

listening to them and not trying to rehearse your response that

you're about to give them as soon as they quit talking can be

really helpful. Like that will come to you when you need it.

You know those answers, but you don't need to necessarily think

about how you're going to say that like actually take the time

to listen.

Absolutely. I think all of those are great

tips. And the author's name that I was hunting for is Tony

Hillerman. So, if you want to read it, oh good. You found it

novel. Yeah. Ellerman Yes, just in time, just in time to close a

call. Yes, Tony Hillerman is an awesome author. So and you learn

a lot of really good listening skills by following some of the

things in his books. Okay, so

I think that's it for us today then on

asking better questions. We hope you guys have enjoyed this

episode. A couple things to consider are big three, what is

your motivation for asking the question? Ask questions that beg

for longer answers and take the time to really become a good

listener. We hope you guys have enjoyed this episode. If you

did, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you over on

social media, Instagram and Facebook, specifically at The

Business Animal. You can find us online at the business

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to hear from you. Until next time, keep your business well