Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others

do you wish they would do more of?”
Suggestions for How to Use This Question
“What do you wish they would do more of?”
They have to change!
That's a common criticism. And criticism is contagious. If you can get the other
person to be specific about the behaviors they wish to see, however, you'll achieve a
powerful redirection of the conversation. You'll move from complaints and cynicism to
productive dialogue about how to move forward. You will help sharpen the other
person's understanding of the problem.
Don't fix the blame, fix the problem.
When to use the question
Whenever someone at work complains.
When an individual is singled out and criticized.

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Alternative versions of the question
“If you could get your people to do just one thing differently—one action that
would have a big impact on performance—what would it be?”
“In what ways do you wish they would change?”
Follow up questions
“Why do you think they aren't doing those things?”
“Are they not doing the right things because they lack knowledge and skills,
because the organization gets in their way, or because they don't have the natural
ability?”

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26
Dig Deeper. Deeper. Still Deeper
“We're scheduling a training workshop for our sales executives. What
would you charge to deliver a two-day training session?” On the phone is
Kurt Dawson, the head of global sales for a company that makes industrial
equipment.
(Whoa, I'm thinking. Hold your horses. I know I have to pull hard on the
reins or this one will go places that don't make sense for this company or for
me).
“Let's talk,” I tell Dawson. “I can come by next week.”
“Sometimes training isn't the best place to start,” I add. “In my
experience, there are times it's the very last thing you want to do.” I can tell
he doesn't like my response. He wants sales training. But is that what he
needs?
Five days later I am sitting in Kurt Dawson's office, sipping burnt coffee
from a 20-year-old coffee maker. He describes his company, products, and
salesforce in glowing terms.
“We're the market leader. We have the highest quality in the business. Our
salespeople are highly desired commodities—our competitors are always
trying to steal them.”
It sounds too good to be true.
I start with the first Why. I lean forward in my chair and ask, “Why do
you want to do sales training?”
“Well, it's because we need to continually improve the skills of our
salespeople.”
I follow with the second Why. I ask him, “Why do you need to improve
your salespeople's skills. It sounds like they are the envy of the industry!”
“I believe that if we improve their skills, they will be more effective at
new client acquisition.”

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I go on to the third Why. “Why do you need to increase your new client
acquisition efforts?”
He looks at me like I am asking why he needs to breathe air to stay alive.
“Our existing client base cannot support the growth targets our CEO has
set for us. We need to bring in more new clients.”
(Now we are getting closer).
I give Kurt my fourth Why. “And why can't you grow your existing
clients fast enough?”
There is an awkward silence. He hems and haws for an eternity. I wait. I
say nothing. (Never, ever interrupt a productive silence!).
“Well, it's the attrition. We are losing 20 percent of our existing clients
each year.”
I can almost hear a subwoofer pumping out that low, rumbling, dissonant
chord that always accompanies the most frightening scene in every horror
movie. It signals that something very bad is about to happen. Glenn Close is
about to leap out of the bathtub at Michael Douglas in Fatal Attraction.
“Twenty percent.” I repeat the statistic casually, with no judgment in my
voice.
Finally, the fifth Why. “I just have to ask—why are you losing 20 percent
of your clients each year?”
“We're being undercut by several competitors who are lowering their
prices just to buy the business. But it's not sustainable. They cannot support
such low prices for very long.”
“And how do you know that?” I decide to press him even further.
“We survey our salespeople. And, I've heard this from a few clients as
well.”
(Finally, I've gone deep enough).
I tell my client that until we develop a better understanding of their
attrition, their competition, and their clients’ perspectives on their products
and pricing, it makes no sense to put on a training program.
I persuade him to set aside the training program idea for now. Instead, I
am engaged to conduct an intensive examination of their operations.
I interview the sales force, as well as some clients they've lost. The real
problem quickly emerges. Dawson's company is only rarely getting

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undercut on price. Instead, there are significant quality and delivery issues
with their products.
I confirm my original thinking. I tell my client that if they don't solve the
quality and delivery issues first, the best training in the world will be a
waste of time.
Because of the five Whys I have asked my client, the project we define
together is much broader—and has far more impact—than a training
program. I help Kurt lead a substantial effort to overhaul his company's
operations, from production through sales. A client to this very day.
When someone says, “I want this,” you have to find out what they
really need. You do this by asking “Why?” You can ask this question
as many as five times, starting with “Why do you want to do that?”
or “Why is this happening?”