You don’t need better ideas, you need better questions
Three unusual questions to unlock better results for your business.
What’s the quickest way to grow your business in 2022? Is Facebook dead? Do I need an NFT? Should I get into crypto?
They’re all big questions and none of them will help you move your business forward.
As Tony Robbins would say, to get a better answer, you need to ask a better question.
So here are a few better questions to help you spark better solutions.
“Where do I find one customer?”
Everyone needs customers. The obvious question might be “How do I find more customers?” That will lead you down a well trodden and hopeless path. Finding customers is never a problem. The problem is getting them to buy something.
So a better question to start with might be “Where do I find one customer?”
Firstly, switching the ‘how’ to ‘where’ puts you in control. To solve ‘where are they?’ you simply need to start looking, which isn’t so hard. But to solve ‘how do I find them’ reinforces the feeling that you lack the skills or knowledge, which isn’t fun.
Secondly, although it might sound too simplistic, getting focused on one single customer will unlock some important details and force you to focus.
This helps you get tight on who you’re serving and what they need. The biggest trap is to start chasing everyone. Because everyone is different and you can’t please everyone.
But if you only had to please one person, well…
Who is she?
Where is she?
What does she believe?
What does she need?
Who is she already listening to?
How can we help her?
If we’re only taking one customer, who should we avoid?
No one’s saying you have to stop at one. But if you can imagine exactly what that one perfect customer would be like it makes it much easier to find them.
And if you can get one customer then you can get two. And then you can do it again and again until you’ve got ten, twelve… enough.
“What else does she need to be successful now?”
Once you’ve got enough customers, you might start to wonder about how much money you’re making and how to make more of it.
The easy question is “How do I make more money?” but again, that won’t lead you anywhere. It’s too broad and it’s selfish.
Instead, try asking “What else does she need to be successful now?”
They just bought your protein powder, do they have a shaker? They just bought your tea, how will they brew it without a teapot? Why not ask?
You can call it an upsell or a cross sell. It’s obvious. And it’s cringey. Either way it feels like selling and no one likes selling. So you don’t do it.
Do you want fries with that?
McDonald’s built an empire on those fries. They got customers in for a $5 burger and sold them fries for $1 as well. That’s a 20% bump in revenue. Would 20% more money help your business?
The fries are a cliché but you can do better. It’s not about finding more stuff to ram into your customer’s shopping trolley.
Every time a customer buys a product to solve a problem, they graduate to a new level of problem.
A customer buys a shiny new car, now they’ve got to keep it clean.
A customer learns how to speak in public, now they’ve got to find out how to book speaking gigs.
A customer buys some fancy software, now they’ve got to teach their team how to use it.
The real secret to making more money is to stop trying to make more money and instead focus on solving more problems. People have problems. They’re up to their eyeballs in them.
When you already know your customer’s problems before she does, you’re not selling, you’re a lifesaver.
“Why will she come back?”
So you found a customer. You solved all her problems and then some. But there’s still room in your wallet for a little more. Good.
So you might fall back into the lazy questions, and get back to the ‘how do I get more customers?’ number.
But the most expensive thing your business will ever do is find a new customer. You don’t want that. Much better to make the most of the customers you already got.
So a better question is, “Why will she come back?”
Notice it’s not ‘will she come back?’ which sounds desperate and unsure.
Adding the Why makes it feel inevitable and again, puts you in control. Now, list out all the incredible reasons why your customer is going to come back.
You might include things like loyalty discounts and frequent flyer style programs. They’re okay, but they probably benefit you more than your customer, if we’re honest.
As we mentioned earlier, with every purchase your customer graduates to a new problem. You know what these problems are.
Do they need a refill in six months? 6 weeks? Where will they go? Why not come back to you? Can you give them a reason to come back to you? Again think added value, not money off.
Your dentist rebooks you for a checkup in twelve months. You trust your dentist and you book it in. As an expert in your field, what do you recommend for your customers? Will the product last forever? Probably not, but that’s okay. When is a good time to replace it?
Be invaluable to them. Don’t just offer a discount, be the link in the chain they can’t live without and your customer will come back time and again.
Better questions lead to better opportunities
The opportunities are out there and you can make them your own. The best place to start is with some provocative questions to help open your eyes. To recap, here are three unusual questions that might just spark some unusual results:
“Where do I find one customer?”
“What else does she need to be successful now?”
“Why will she come back?”
–
