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Learn to be nosy
by Janet Attard
As a child you were probably taught that it's rude to ask a lot of questions about other people's activities. As an adult, you will have to unlearn that lesson. To succeed in your own business, you'll have to make continuing efforts to keep informed about how your competitors are operating and what your customers really want to buy. You may feel uncomfortable trying to retrieve information you know your competitors don't want you to have. But you'll be left in the dust if you don't constantly keep tabs on how profitable they are, what new products they plan to introduce, what new manufacturing techniques they are using, what they do to make employees like working for them (or dislike their jobs), or what their customers think about their operation.
Posted by Janet Attard
on May 29, 2008 at 8:37 AM
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Being nosy is important not just in learning more about your competitors, but in learning more about your prospects and customers. Asking questions is essential to uncover needs you can fill, identify interest in your service with trial closes, etc. (An article on trial closes alone would be beneficial, I think).
More, it's important to ask questions about your prospect even when you walk in the door and find the decision-maker isn't there and you have an employee in front of you. A few judicious questions asked in a conversational tone (so it doesn't seem like an interrogation) can identify whether the decision-maker really, in truth, is a prospect for your service or not, when he starts his day, what kind of car he drives (so you can drive by and see whether he's there), whether he believes in advertising, for example, etc.
Your article could have been expanded to discuss these benefits of nosiness (or detective work, which is what I call it).
Posted by: Stan Spiegel on May 30, 2008 at 11:04 AM