This session is dedicated to the possibility that professionals can greatly increase the value they provide to their customers if they hone their skills at asking better, more effective questions. Developing and enhancing this skill is not easy because it requires us to rethink and relearn conversation habitss. If you would like to learn how this questioning approach can strengthen your customer conversations, join Ed Kless us for this discussion-based session.

1. Changing conversations by asking better questions
Ed Kless
GN-23
Thursday, July 30th, 1:30pm – 2:15pm
@edkless

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The contents of this presentation were provided by the individual(s) and/or
company listed on the title page. The information and opinions presented in this
presentation may not represent the positions, strategies, or opinions of Sage.
Unless explicitly stated, Sage is not responsible for the content herein and no
endorsements are implied.
©2015 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, the Sage logo, and any Sage
product and service names mentioned herein, are trademarks of Sage Software,
Inc. or its affiliates. All other names used in this presentation are for informational
purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
@edkless

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Language was invented to ask
questions. Answers may be
given by grunts and gestures,
but questions must be spoken.
Humanness came of age when
man asked the first question.
Social stagnation results not
from a lack of answers but from
the absence of the impulse to
ask questions.
-Eric Hoffer

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Basics of questions
• Questions determine the quality of our experiences.
• Questions determine how well we understand others.
• Questions determine how we relate to the world.
• Questions determine what is important and what is not.
• Questions determine our course of actions and direct
the actions of others.
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@edkless

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What is an effective question?
• Have valued answers.
• Have a purpose.
• Are effectively delivered
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@edkless

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Bad questions
• Manipulate
• Try to gain power
• Intimidate
• Boast
• Confuse
• Contain jargon
• Make yourself look bad
• Ask "How" too early
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@edkless

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How? vs. What matters!
BECOME:
How do you do it? What refusal have I been postponing?
How long will it take? What is the commitment I am willing to make?
How much does it cost? What is the value of it to me?
How do you get those people to change? What is my contribution to the problem?
How do you measure it? What is the judgment I need to make?
How have other people done it successfully? What do we want to create together?
@edkless

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Setting up great questions
• Create a distinction from the past
• Give permission for unpopular answers
• Avoid advice and replace it with curiosity
• Think about the risk order
• Possibility and dissent come earlier
• Ownership, commitment, and gifts come later
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@edkless

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Great questions
• Engage people in a intimate way
• Confront them with their freedom to make a choice
• Invite them to create a new possibility in the future
• Have an impact even if the person refuses to answer them
• Express that change is difficult and unpredictable
• Three qualities
 Ambiguous
 Personal
 Edgy
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@edkless

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Best questions
• Would it be appropriate at this time to ask you a few questions?
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@edkless

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Effective Questioning – Getting to Value
Recognize a “measurable” word
• Revenue
• Cost
• Customer satisfaction
• Quality
• Performance
• Productivity
• Et al.
Ask Mahan Khalsa’s Five “Golden Questions”
• How do you measure it?
• What is it now?
• What do you want it to be?
• What is the value of the
difference?
• Over time (usually one year)?
@edkless

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Best questions
• Would it be appropriate at this time to ask you a few questions?
• What is the crossroads you face at this time?
• What is the story you keeping telling about the problems you
face?
• What is your contribution to the very thing you complain about
most?
• What is the value that your organization can create for your
customers?
• Who are your heroes and why?
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@edkless

15. Changing conversations by asking better questions
Ed Kless
GN-23
Thursday, July 30th, 1:30pm – 2:15pm
@edkless

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#SageSummit
Questions?
• Send any questions you may have about this session to the
following email by August 15:
@edkless
ConferenceSessions.NA@sage.com

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Session survey
• Complete a survey for this session!
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http://goo.gl/2MUPWW
Session code: GN-23
Session title: Changing conversations by asking effective
questions