Tony Robbins is fond of saying that the quality of your life is directly related to the quality of the questions you ask. So I ask you, are you asking the right questions?
When asking questions, ask “Do” and “Consider” questions rather than fact-finding questions. Early on, you will want to ask the prospect why they are interested in your offerings. The more you know about why they’re interested in your offerings, the better job you can do of connecting the dots in a way that allows them to feel good about making an affirmative decision.
Here is a list of some of my favorite questions to ask early in the conversation to make sure you are not wasting your time:
- Are there particular departments/individuals here that focus on energy efficiency?
- How many projects have been proposed in the last “X” years?
- How many have been approved (and why)?
- What has prevented project approvals?
- Can you think of any previous efficiency initiatives that were particularly gratifying?
- What projects or initiatives are on your “wish list”?
- What percentage of your overhead is energy?
- How could energy-efficiency boost productivity?
- What is the equivalent level of sales that would need to be produced to equal $1 in energy cost-reduction?
- How could/are upgrade costs and benefits split between the landlord and the tenant?
- How might the landlord’s share of savings affect the building’s profitability and value?
- What does the capital budgeting request process look like?
- What barriers have you faced in getting projects approved in the past?
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