The Most Useful Question Makes You a More Effective Coach
Thanks to Michael Stanier Bungay, there is one question I ask in every meeting with current or potential clients:
What is your most useful takeaway from today’s conversation?
In his book The Coaching Habit, Michael appropriately describes this question as “how to finish any conversation in a way that will make you look like a genius.”
The problem with most conversations is that as soon as it’s over you’re off to the next task or conversation without pausing to reflect—but reflection is how your brain learns!
Short term memory fades quickly, so without the most useful question you run a high risk of ending up in the mental dump of every other conversation your client already forgot.
The most useful question fixes that, and Michael highlights six reasons it works:
- It assumes the conversation was useful
- It asks people to identify the big thing that was the most useful
- It makes it personal
- It gives you feedback
- It’s learning, not judgement
- It reminds people how useful you are to them
Whenever you teach something, you’re making people uncomfortable by design.
Getting out of your comfort zone is the only way to learn and grow, but the most useful question bookends that experience on a positive note so people are more likely to come back for more.
Use the most useful question to collect testimonials
Even when I ask the most useful question during a live training, I sometimes follow up.
When I teach a full day workshop, I send this email with the subject line “Useful?” as soon as we end:
Hey {NAME}, how are you feeling after bootcamp?
As you’re still covered in sweat (at least metaphorically), I’d love to ask:
What was your most useful takeaway from today?
Please reply to let me know, while it’s still fresh.
That email leads to specific and detailed replies which often become testimonials on my website, and they are much more useful testimonials than ego-boosters like “John is great!”
Use the most useful question to segue into a sale
I’ve built the most useful question into the Serve Call strategy I teach as the recap before recommendation to segue into a sale.
Once you discover what results your target customer wants, what roadblocks are in their way, and what resources they have to help them, I recap like this:
I want to make sure you walk away from this call with clarity. For your benefit, as much as mine, what is your most useful takeaway from today’s coaching conversation so far?
This gives you feedback, creates a natural transition, and activates the Reciprocity Effect.
As soon as your target customer clearly states how you’ve helped them, they have a natural desire to help you in return. They feel like they owe you, and want to pay off their debt.
That’s when you start the recommendation which leads to a sale:
I believe I can help you. Would you like me to share how?
