Discovery
This refers to your ability to develop deep insights into all the people you work with. It is not only critical when it comes to clients and centers of influence; it is also fundamental in building a great team.
Highly effective discovery is not a function of asking an extended list of questions. There is not a viable checklist you can rely on. There are no decision trees that work.
Central to discovery is your competence at asking insight-generating questions in a conversational manner. To be effective, you should be able to ask meaningful questions at the right time in—literally—life-enhancing ways.
You and the client are best served if you are able to talk through what is important to them. The less forced—the more natural—the conversation, the better. Not only does this get you more information and insights, it helps communicate that you are an expert.
There are some very powerful questions you can use with clients:
What’s the most important thing we should be discussing? Your objectives for client meetings, for example, may not coincide with those of your client. That not only wastes time and effort, but can also hurt the relationship. So we use this question about the most important thing at the start of a meeting. It may also be appropriate when a meeting is going “off track” because the client is not meaningfully engaged.
You want to make sure you are truly being responsive. At the same time, you want to move your agenda along. None of this is possible unless you are in sync with what is important to your client at that time.
What are you most concerned about? This is another powerful question. By understanding what really matters to your clients, you are able to act smartly and be helpful. This question is applicable all the time. The answers are likely to change according to the clients’ circumstances, so asking the question often is wise. Clients are always going to deal with matters that matter most to them.