“ When it comes to building trust , expressing interest in their unique business is far more effective than small talk .”
She Said : Exactly ! Your job during this process is to ask questions and find the pain , not solve the problem . I see a lot of MSP salespeople and business owners jump to saying , “ This is what we do ! You ’ re never going to have issues if you work with us .” They don ’ t ask questions , but you have to . Your problem is to find the pain . If you can ’ t find a ton of pain , the likelihood of closing that sale is very low .
Think Credibility Over Likability
When it comes to building trust , expressing interest in their unique business is far more effective than small talk .
He Said : You ’ re selling solutions , which means credibility is more important than likability . Some people like to get chummy with their prospects ; they ’ ll look at the pictures in their [ prospect ’ s ] office and make small talk about their pets or family . At the end of the day , that may increase your likability with the prospect , but it won ’ t increase your credibility — and likability rarely sells solutions .
She Said : Right ! You don ’ t have time to waste . You ’ re going to come in , look the part , and be no-nonsense . If you start by asking about their business and listening empathetically , they ’ ll start telling you more and more , because they ’ re excited to talk about their business !
Make The Initial Question Count
It ’ s important to open up the meeting with an open-ended question that makes the prospect feel part of this discovery process .
She Said : The initial question to ask is , “ I was on your website , and I know you do [ insert business here ]. Can you tell me a little bit more about the business ?” That ’ s it ! Keep it very open-ended .
You want your prospect to feel like they ’ re part of this process . When you present your solution to their problem , they should feel like you both arrived at the right decision together .
He Said : It ’ s the same approach a good doctor uses — the patient has already filled out the paperwork explaining what ’ s wrong , but the doctor still wants to hear it directly from them . If the doctor prescribes some expensive treatment without asking questions , you ’ re going to doubt if that ’ s even correct . As a service provider , you don ’ t want the prospect second guessing your “ prescription .” You want them to trust the solution .
Learn How They Use Tech
The following questions should dig into how your prospect uses technology as a business . Avoid getting too much into the weeds . The purpose is to continue building trust while getting a general sense of how technology impacts their day-to-day life .
She Said : From that initial question , follow up with , “ So I can get a better understanding of how your business uses technology , let me ask you a few more questions .”
You want to ask them guided questions about each part of their business . Most businesses are going to have these business functions : marketing , service delivery / production , sales , HR , and finance . Here are a few questions to start with :
• What are the most critical applications you rely on to run your business ?
• Are they in the cloud , or located here on a server ?
• Do they work well for you ? Are you having any issues with them ?
• How do you generate new sales ? What technology does your sales team rely on ?
• What software do you use when providing your services to clients ? Do you have any frustrations with that process ?
Asking these questions will elevate you as a trusted advisor . You want to know the critical things that are going to shut their business down if they fail .
He Said : When you run this type of discovery , you start exposing some latent pains . A lot of times , the quality of a consultant is based on the quality of the questions they ask . So be very methodical and strategic .
Get Out Of The IT Closet
Asking the right questions will allow you to position yourself as a strategic advisor and get out of the IT closet . Remember , you only have 60 minutes for this discovery meeting , so make every question count .
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