As a Consultant, asking the right questions to your clients is imperative. When it comes to selling a service, one of the most important things you can do is establish rapport with your client. By asking the right questions, you will be able to create a win-win situation for your client and for yourself. In this article we will discuss 15 questions you can ask your clients in order to gain a deeper insight into their business and how you can assist them with your service.

What are Consulting Questions?

Consulting questions are simply the questions clients ask you and your organisation in order to gain a deeper insight into your service. It is important that you ask all important questions that will ensure you meet their needs and requirements.

Why are Consulting Questions important?

If you understand what the client's goals are, what is important to them, and how they operate in their business, then it will be much easier for you to build a relationship with them and show them how niche consulting services can help them solve their problem. You will also know that they have made a decision to engage with you and your service. By asking the right questions, you will also be able to:

a. Gain insight into the clients needs and requirements:

It is important that you gain a deeper understanding into their business and how they are operating. This will help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of their business, how the niche consultants can help them grow and improve, and what results they would like to achieve.

b. Ensure you are addressing their needs and requirements:

In order to ensure you are addressing the client's needs and requirements, it is important that you ask questions that will help you find out more about their business and their problems. For example, if there is a problem with meeting deadlines, ask them to explain what types of difficulties they have generally faced in past projects. Or if they need more clients and the number of clients is low, ask them how they want larger projects.

c. Ensure you are building trust:

By asking the right questions, you will be able to build a deeper relationship with the client, which will help when you begin to sell your service. When it comes to selling your service, it is important that you gain the confidence of your clients so that they are more likely to work with you in the future. A good way of doing this is to ask them questions that they cannot answer. You can then show them how the niche consultancy services can help their business and add value.

d. Gain an understanding of their goals for the future:

It is important that you ask questions that will give you an insight into what problems they want to solve in the future. This will ensure that your service can help them solve these problems and if you know what your clients goals are, then it will be easier for you to connect with them. For example, if they know they want to increase their awareness online and have a website designed, then ask them what they would like their new website to contain.

e. Gain an understanding as to how they would like to be involved:

Often when you are meeting with your client, you may want to involve them in the details of how the service will be carried out and even suggest things for them to do. However, it is important that you gain their understanding about what they would like to achieve from the service. By asking them what they would like to achieve from the service, you will be able to create a win-win situation for both of you.

What are the questions to Ask?

The following are some of the questions you can ask your clients in order to gain a deeper insight into their organisation. It is important that you ask all the important questions as each question will help you gain insight into their business and how niche consulting services can help them.

What type of organisation do you run?

By asking this question, you will be able to get an understanding of what kind of organisation your clients run, what kind of services they offer, and what their core values are. For example, if they are a doctor's surgery that offers medical services then the core value would be a doctor's care for their patients. If they are a law firm that offers legal services, then their core value would be to offer excellent legal services. According to "Beyond Customer Satisfaction: The Five Drivers of Business Performance" by [Wall Street Journal], it states that the key to building a successful relationship is to help understand and clearly communicate your clients' core values so that you can understand each other's wants, needs, and expectations, which will ultimately result in creating a long-term relationship.

What is the purpose of your organisation?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain insight into what the client's main goals are and how they operate in their business. For example, if your client is a charity that provides visiting nurses to care for sick people in hospitals and their goal is to increase the number of people they can help, then ask them if they would like more cases. If they are an advertising agency that needs to grow their customer base, then ask them how they would like to achieve this.

What kind of reputation do you want to have?

By asking this question, you can gain insight into how your client wants their business to be seen and how it should act in the future. For example, if their goal is to increase the number of projects they can offer then ask them what kind of results they want to achieve and how they want their clients and staff to feel about working with them.

What kind of business environment would you like?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain insight into the type of environment your client would like their business to have. For example, if your client does not have an IT system and is looking for a consultant to install one, then ask them what it is they expect from their IT system. If they are a law firm that needs to be seen as an expert in their field then ask them what kind of reputation they would like to have amongst their clients.

What kind of future plans do you have for your business?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain insight into the client's goals for the future and what they would like to achieve from their business. For example, if your client is a fast food restaurant that is looking for ways of increasing sales, then ask them what kind of results they wish to achieve and what goals they want to work towards.

Who are your main competitors?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain insight into who the client sees as their top competitors. For example, if your client is a law firm that is looking to grow their client base, then ask them who they think are their main competitors and what they plan on doing to be different from them.

What are the specific problems that you need help with?

Most clients will only come to you with a general problem, but this question will help you gain insight into what specific problem they need help with. For example, if your client is a law firm that is looking for ways to diversify their business and attract new clients, then ask them what type of problems they are looking for help with.

What are the specific results that you are looking for?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain insight into what results your client wants from your service. For example, if your client is a non-profit organisation that needs help with creating marketing material, then ask them what kind of results they want from their marketing material.

What are your main concerns?

By asking this question, you will be able to understand the client's main concerns and any questions they have on their mind. For example, if the client is a law firm that is looking to expand their services, then ask them what kind of things they are worried about and how can you help them.

How prepared are you for change?

Understand the willingness of your client to change is one of the most important steps you need to take before starting any work with them. Understanding how prepared they are will allow you to create effective ways of solving their problems and will also allow you to get a deeper understanding of their business.

How much control do you want over the result?

By asking this question, you will be able to know the level of control your client has over the result. For example, if your client is a law firm and they are looking for ways to increase their profits by increasing the number of clients they work with, then ask them how much control they are willing to give up in order to reach their goals.

What is your budget?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain an understanding of how much money your client can spend on your service and what they expect from it. For example, if your client is a law firm that is looking to expand their services, then ask them how much they are willing to spend on your service.

What do you want from this consultation?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain insight into the clients wants and needs regarding the consultation they are planning on hiring you for. For example, if you are a marketing consultant and they want to know what kind of results they can expect from the ad campaign you plan on creating for them, then ask them what type of results they are expecting to see.

How do you define success?

By asking this question, you will be able to understand how your client defines success for their business. For example, if your client is a marketing consultant that is looking to boost their clients' confidence, then ask them how they define success and what are the things they need to achieve it.

What are your key problems?

By asking this question, you will be able to gain insight into the most important issues your client wants you to focus on when working with them. For example, if your client is a marketing consultant that needs help with their social media strategy, then ask them what their key problems are.