764 - Are you asking the right questions?

Have you ever had someone tell you about a sporting event, a concert, or something relating to your business but they left out the most important details?

They know you are interested in the topic but didn't know what information would be most meaningful to you.

Recently, my daughter sent me a short clip of a symphony concert she attended.

She meant well.

She made no mention of what piece was being played and stopped the video when a French horn duet was about to begin.

I started singing where the video left off but I couldn't remember what piece it was.

The clip was only 10 seconds long and I was going crazy.

OK, BEETHOVEN...I know it's Beethoven...

It's a symphony....but which one? Was it number 3...NO....number 8! YES...

But wait, she stopped right before the duet began.

HOW FRUSTRATING! I was laughing at my own reaction to this clip.

People often give us partial information, not knowing what details would have been helpful to us.

Imagine being a raving baseball fan, and someone telling you what a great game they saw but they forgot the score or who played.

Those details didn't matter to them but they would have mattered to you.

The same thing happens in business.

Your prospective clients tell you certain things.

What you want to know and what your clients are telling you are possibly two different things.

Unless you are asking the right questions, you could be losing business.

This is especially true when doing business internationally with different cultures.

In order to give people the information they want and need to do business with you, you must ask the right questions.

Are you asking the right questions?