Why, as Sales professionals, are some of us insatiably curious and others not so much?

As children, our favourite word was “why” we always had to know why, usually it was “Why” we couldn’t have something. But as we grew up our curiosity dampened and, in some adults, it is gone.

We read in job descriptions that being creative, curious, analytical, and results-oriented are sought-after skills for salespeople, but why can’t some of us go there?

Earlier in my career, I wasn’t as curious as I am now. Part of it was that I was focused on solving the problem in front of me, dealing with “BTL” below the line, user level. They had a problem; I had the solution, quick fix, and move on. I got by without being overly curious.

As I advanced in my career, I started dealing more ATL, Above the Line users, Executives, and C Suites, they were not solving a particular problem, they were exploring causes of why something was or wasn’t happening. I had to take a step back and look at the broader picture and understand how some of these individual problems make up a mesh of larger problems.

Doing this tripled the size of my opportunity, but to be successful, I needed to fully understand their business, their priorities, and corporate initiatives.How did they get themselves in this situation, what have they done to try and remedy it, and what happens if they don’t fix it? What is the impact on the executive, shareholders, and company reputation? I had questions that needed answers. The situation forced me to become curious.

For me to ask surface-level questions, would not give me the real reasons things are happening and the true impact, hence no compelling reason to change.

I added words like “Interesting, tell me more”, “And then what happened…?” “In your opinion, why do you think that occurred...?” I couldn’t have pieces or soundbites of the story, I needed the full picture, context. I needed to then dig deeper and recap what I heard. To offer a solution to something I didn’t fully understand was not an option for me. Sadly, it is for many today.

When we start understanding the behaviours, practices, and processes of our prospect we start to get a sense of the culture, their desire & motivation to make decisions and their risk tolerance to act. Is there an element of complacency, fear? Is this beyond their scope? Is there education required?

So, I took it slow. Leaned into my curiosity and asked many second and third-degree questions- I went below the surface to get to the root cause of the issue. The emotion behind the situation, the question behind the questions and the impact. Being in this situation for so long, what can’t they do now because of it? That is pain, there is emotion, overwhelm, frustration, we need to lean into this.

The clarity I experienced had a direct correlation to my confident response, “Yes, I can help”. There was a level of conviction in my tone that others didn’t have because they didn’t take the time to fully understand the situation.
“ Seek first to understand”

To pitch at a surface-level problem is an easy one, status quo wins.

However, if they do decide to move forward nobody is set up for success, we don’t have full awareness of the depth, breadth, and impact of the problem. There will be more behind it and most likely we are solving a symptom, delivering temporary results.

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Few pointers to consider:

Curiosity without context is interrogation. How can we avoid this?

It may sound something like “Bob, to fully understand your situation and see if we are in a position to help, it would be helpful to learn more about your processes. Is it ok if I ask you a few questions”? Permission-based, Bob knows the questions are coming and why. He is prepared for them.

Asking impact questions. 

“Bob when there is non-compliance with this part of the process, what happens? for you? Your team? The organization. I can zoom out here or I can zoom in. To your shareholders, your department, your team, you?

This allows Bob to see this problem has more impact and reach than just him. Can we then quantify that impact? what is that costing you? Per day/ month/ quarter? Suddenly, it is difficult for Bob to turn a blind eye to this problem. He is aware of it, the impact on the company and what it is costing them, and he has made this realization himself. This is how we build organic urgency.

How will you be more childlike? Uninhibited to dig deep and lean into your curiosity? 

It is the only way to truly understand our prospects problems. Make them the focus. 

The more information we have the quicker we can determine if we are in a position to help, thereby compressing the sales cycle, time is currency.

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What is one thing will you do today to lean into your curiosity?

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