Interviewing: Asking the Right Questions – When Yes and No Is Not Enough

Have you ever finished an interview and realized you don’t know any more about the person or event than you did before you started. How would you rate the interview, pass or fail?

Before I realized what I was doing wrong, this happened to me all too often. Whether you are interviewing a new employee candidate, a potential client in real estate, a service provider professional or your children, the type of questions you ask will determine the answers you get.

Early on in my career I learned there is a simple solution to this problem. The key to a successful interview is not to ask “yes or no” questions. Simple, but listen to yourself the next time you interview someone.

If you ask only yes or no questions you will only get yes or no answers. When I am on the other side of the table I have been taught not to provide too much information and I love yes and no questions. All I have to do is answer the question and I have provided the interviewer with exactly what he asked, albeit not what he may have wanted.

Never ask a yes and no question, always ask for more information, opinions, descriptions, explanations, etc.

Let’s look at some examples:

A. Have you ever been terminated or laid off from a job?

B. Explain why you left your last 3 places of employment?

 

A. Do you want to sell your house?

B. Why do you want to sell your house?

 

A. Did you see the accident occur?

B. What did you see happen?

 

A. Can you cut down the tree in my yard?

B. How would you cut down this tree hanging over my house?

 

A. Did you kick your brother?

B. Why did you kick you brother?

 

Even though these are simple examples you can see where in each case the “B” question will provide you with a better picture and more information from which you can form an opinion.

Yes this is a simple solution but as I said earlier listen to the questions you ask and I believe you will be amazed at how many are yes and no questions. I still have to watch myself to avoid this trap and practice it every day. When I do it right it makes my job a lot easier and successful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Name Badge – A Public Service Announcement





Have you ever watched business people get out of their cars at their local grocery store and quickly remove their name badge? Or, have you gone to lunch with other sales people in your group and had them remove their badge before going into the restaurant? This never ceases to amaze me. Are they embarassed by who they are and what they do?

Name badges are one of the best and least expensive means of self-branding and advertising available. Not only does it open the door for conversations and questions about your product and/or services, but it also serves to reinforce your name. For a few well spent dollars your name badge is publicly announcing who you are and what you do wherever you go.

From my experience, in the past, as an automotive sales person and my present involvement in the real estate industry I can honestly state that a name badge can and will generate contacts and business for you. On numerous occasions I have had people come up to me and say, “You’re a real estate agent. Can you answer a question for me?” This simple opening has directly led to real estate listings opportunities and potential buyers.

On another occasion, while having lunch at a local restaurant, a lady came up to me and said she noticed I worked at a local car dealership and she had a question to ask me. After answering the question I gave her my business card and asked her to come by and let me show her the model she liked. She showed up and I sold her the car.

Would this have happened if I was ashamed of my badge and removed it before I went into the restaurant. No, it was the badge that provided the opening for the entire business transaction. There is a saying in real estate among agents, “Don’t be a secret agent”. If you want other people’s business you have to let them know who you are and what you have to offer.

In order to succeed you have to go out and get the business. Self-promotion and advertising is one of the ways to do it. Your name badge is another tool which can make this happen.

To re-cap, here are a few facts about name badge use.

1. It will help a client remember your name and reinforce you as the expert.

2. It is a conversation starter.

3. It will bring you potential business and opportunities.

4. It is inexpensive advertising with a high return on your investment.



In order to maximize your success from wearing your name badge here are a few guidelines for name badge use.



1. Buy a quality badge. A cheap badge is just that, a cheap badge, and reflects on you.

2. Make sure it is easy to read.

• a. Not too large that it is obnoxious or so small you can’t read it.

• b. Not too congested with information. Just your company logo, your name and job title.

• c. Your name should be the most prominent feature.

• d. No fancy print or fonts. Clean, clear and concise.

3. If you shake hands with your right hand, wear your name badge on your right chest.

4. Make sure it is attached right side up and straight. Don’t laugh, it happens.

5. Use common sense when not to wear your badge.

6. Monogram clothing, shirts, jackets, sweater, and hats, are another way to get the effect in a more casual environment.

Your business is all about name recognition and branding. The more you get your name out in front of the public the more likely they are to think of you when a need arises in their lives for your services. Whether it is print advertisements, internet use, business cards or name badges, each serves to remind people who you are and what you have to offer.

Don’t keep your professional expertise a secret, flaunt it. Wear your name badge and let people know you are the expert in your profession and you’re there to help them. It works!

Make your public service announcement today by wearing your name badge.

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Never Give Up

Never Give Up

How often does it feel like you can never win and you decide it is not worth your effort. How often does the next challenge end the same way.

There are times when you have to move on but it is important to review all your facts before making a decision. Basing a decision on emotion and frustration can often lead to failure. Worse it can lead to lost opportunities.

The little picture below says it all.




This is one of my favorite motivational pictures. "Never Give Up. Never Surrender." (Do you remember where that came from?)

Customer Service or Customer Bother

The other day my wife and I were shopping at a major department store in the local mall. I was trying to find a certain item so I decided to ask one of the sales staff where I could find it.

I walk up to two members of the sales staff who were talking to one another in the middle of the department. I stood there not wanting to be rude and interrupt their conversation thinking surely they would acknowledge me. After a few minutes of being ignored I said to them, “Excuse me, but could you tell me where the ‘such and such’ is?”

She responded with her back to me, “It’s over there, a couple of aisles over.” She did this with a flip of the hand in that direction and then went back to talking to her partner.

I told my wife, “Let’s go. If I am that much of a bother I don’t need anything from here.” We left and I may not go back to Macy’s, in our town again.

On the way home we stopped at our local Publix grocery store to pick up something for supper. Again I had to ask for help finding an item.

I asked the stock boy, who was down on his knees stocking the bottom shelf, where the item was. He immediately jumped up and said, “It is on Aisle 5, let me show you.” Even though I said I could find it he went with me and showed me exactly where the item was.

Did you catch what I just did in the above two paragraphs? I named the places of business where I was shopping. I named the store where I had the bad customer service experience and I named the store where I had the good customer service experience.

How many times have you heard someone say I going to buy a new car at Big Time Auto Emporium and heard someone else say, “I wouldn’t go there. My brother had a friend who heard they were rude to customers.”

That is what generates the most results from a customer service incident. It is not just one customer you lose but it could be all the potential customers they talk too.

When I worked in the consumer products industry we were told for every one customer complaint received, you lost one hundred other customers. These were either people who received poor service and did not complain or who heard about the other person’s problem and took their business somewhere else.

The same is true for good service. People will recommend companies and sales people who they get good service from to their friends and family.

If you have been in direct sales or service for any length of time you know a large part of your business comes from referrals. “Word of mouth” recommendations from friends and family are one of the leading sources of referrals.

Which type of customer service do you offer your clients?

Your Name Badge – A Public Service Announcement

Have you ever watched business people get out of their cars at their local grocery store and quickly remove their name badge? Or, have you gone to lunch with other sales people in your group and had them remove their badge before going into the restaurant? This never ceases to amaze me. Are they embarassed by who they are and what they do?

Name badges are one of the best and least expensive means of self-branding and advertising available. Not only does it open the door for conversations and questions about your product and/or services, but it also serves to reinforce your name. For a few well spent dollars your name badge is publicly announcing who you are and what you do wherever you go.

From my experience, in the past, as an automotive sales person and my present involvement in the real estate industry I can honestly state that a name badge can and will generate contacts and business for you. On numerous occasions I have had people come up to me and say, “You’re a real estate agent. Can you answer a question for me?” This simple opening has directly led to real estate listings opportunities and potential buyers.

On another occasion, while having lunch at a local restaurant, a lady came up to me and said she noticed I worked at a local car dealership and she had a question to ask me. After answering the question I gave her my business card and asked her to come by and let me show her the model she liked. She showed up and I sold her the car.

Would this have happened if I was ashamed of my badge and removed it before I went into the restaurant. No, it was the badge that provided the opening for the entire business transaction. There is a saying in real estate among agents, “Don’t be a secret agent”. If you want other people’s business you have to let them know who you are and what you have to offer.

In order to succeed you have to go out and get the business. Self-promotion and advertising is one of the ways to do it. Your name badge is another tool which can make this happen.

To re-cap, here are a few facts about name badge use.

1. It will help a client remember your name and reinforce you as the expert.

2. It is a conversation starter.

3. It will bring you potential business and opportunities.

4. It is inexpensive advertising with a high return on your investment.



In order to maximize your success from wearing your name badge here are a few guidelines for name badge use.

1. Buy a quality badge. A cheap badge is just that, a cheap badge, and reflects on you.

2. Make sure it is easy to read.

• a. Not too large that it is obnoxious or so small you can’t read it.

• b. Not too congested with information. Just your company logo, your name and job title.

• c. Your name should be the most prominent feature.

• d. No fancy print or fonts. Clean, clear and concise.

3. If you shake hands with your right hand, wear your name badge on your right chest.

4. Make sure it is attached right side up and straight. Don’t laugh, it happens.

5. Use common sense when not to wear your badge.

6. Monogram clothing, shirts, jackets, sweater, and hats, are another way to get the effect in a more casual environment.

Your business is all about name recognition and branding. The more you get your name out in front of the public the more likely they are to think of you when a need arises in their lives for your services. Whether it is print advertisements, internet use, business cards or name badges, each serves to remind people who you are and what you have to offer.

Don’t keep your professional expertise a secret, flaunt it. Wear your name badge and let people know you are the expert in your profession and you’re there to help them. It works!

Make your public service announcement today by wearing your name badge.

Find Your Indispensable Employee and Fire Them

As managers we all have one. You know, that one special employee we go to whenever we want to be sure a job or task is done right. No matter how much potential the rest of our team has we always give the special jobs or best leads to our “go to guy.” Sooner or later this team member becomes indispensable to our operation and to our own leadership success.

When this happens to you there is only one thing to do. Find your indispensable employee and fire him. You may think this is harsh but if you want to be successful in leadership you have to learn how to lead without a “go to person”. Here are six reasons why you should. (A point of clarification, I am not talking about Leadership Development, but I am looking at one aspect of Team Dynamics.)

You Become Dependent

Once you start using someone as a “go to guy” you become dependent on that person to insure your own work is done. If you know that they will get the job done you don’t worry about learning how to accomplish the task yourself. Even worse you stop monitoring the work and don’t follow-up on the results.

If one of your employees is that good they will eventually grow tired of following in your shadow and move on to another job. At this point you are at a loss because you have not learned how to do the job yourself or developed the other members of your team to assist you.

Fail to Recognize the Talents of Your Team

Often by giving the more challenging task to the same person all the time you fail to recognize that there are other members of the team that can do the work. If you have done your job right you should have surrounded yourself with team members who are both qualified and trained to handle any task the team faces. It is a known fact that a lot of people will only rise to the level of expectation you have for them. In most work situation the majority of your team wants to be challenged in their job.

Fail to Develop / Train Other Team Members

Another negative result of depending on a “go to guy” is that you fail to train and develop your team. A key part of being in a leadership position is to offer training and guidance to all team members in order to help them achieve their maximum potential.

One of the most obvious problems with this failure is you will be left without a backup plan when your “go to guy” leaves your team, because eventually he will leave. It is your job to train all your team members so that any one of them could assume any task if another team member leaves.

Strife in the Team

Remember back when you were in school and the teacher had a favorite pupil. What did you think of that teacher and the “Teacher’s Pet”? The same thing can happen in your team if you have a favorite “go to guy.” How do you think the rest of the team feels about the “Boss’s Pet”?

The most common result of favoritism is low morale among the other team members. Unconsciously their work begins to suffer and the team’s productivity begins to drop. The results are that you as the leader of team look bad in your boss’s eyes.

It is also a possible outcome of having a “go to guy” that the other team member may sabotage the work and performance of the “Boss’s Pet.” Once again the result of this is that you, as the leader, look bad to your Boss.

Giving Away Too Much Authority

Another possible problem of you continuing to rely on your “go to guy” is a tendency to give them too much power. If you give away too much of your authority the “go to guy” may become the pseudo leader of the group. The other team members begin to look to him for instructions and answers to work issues. This could result in you not being aware of what is happening within your team.

This would not be problem if your goal is to develop a leader but if you are just relying on him to get the job done it could result in problems for you as the leader. The ultimate problem comes when your boss begins to go to the pseudo leader because he believes he is the one who knows what is going on in the team.

Back Stabbing

Finally, there is the possibility that your “go to guy” and / or the entire team my try to sabotage your work and standing with your boss. This is usually a result of their loss of respect for you as their leader because of the favoritism you show your “go to guy.”

Most often it is your “go to guy” that stabs you in the back. If he is as good as you think eventually he will ask himself, “Why do I need him?” The result of this is he will begin to take steps to insure your boss knows who is actually doing all the work.

If we are good leaders we are working hard to develop and train our entire team. Yes, there will be occasions when a team member shows a higher leadership aptitude than the others and we will focus more effort on their development. But, we cannot do this at the expense of the rest of the team. This is what leadership is about.

Developing a “go to guy” into an indispensable employee will lead to your ultimate failure as a leader. Having a strong, well trained team will help insure your success.

Isn’t it time for you to fire your indispensable employee?