Ed Gandia explains why business writers should ask follow-up questions instead of rushing to respond to client requests. Understanding what clients actually need, not just what they ask for, changes the work you deliver.
Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia.
Hey there. Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast. I am your host, Ed Gandia, and this is the podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to earn more and less time doing work they love or better Client this episode is a little different and much shorter than usual rather than my typical 45 minute format. Today I'm sharing a quick tip with you and this is part of the regular audio insights that I publish for my private coaching clients. I just thought you'd find it helpful. So here we go. I hope you enjoy it. I find that too often writers feel great pressure to respond to client and prospect requests and questions even when they don't have enough information to respond adequately. You hear questions like how much do you charge for X? Or we have an ebook we need to publish in two weeks. Can you turn it around by then? Or have you ever written a white paper on the topic of data breaches? Or can you send me samples of case studies you've written about telehealth solutions? Now, I don't know about you, but I'm a natural people pleaser. My natural tendency is to respond right away to questions or requests. Doesn't really matter who it is, and I just want to give people what they want. That's my natural state, my natural inclination. So for years I fell for these requests by answering before I had all the appropriate information, or by letting the prospect or client lead the way, by letting them just lead me. In responding to everything with that question, I mistakenly believed that responsiveness equaled great service. And we all know that providing great service is obviously important. We've all seen businesses that do this and take kind of a similar stance. Businesses that automatically send a quote when you inquire about their service. They don't even ask questions. And you say, look, I'm looking to do this. I'm looking to have this done in my kitchen. And if they do ask a follow up question, it's a very basic question, not questions to better identify fit you know whether or not they're a good fit for you and to do the work. But here's the thing. You're not a customer service line. Your main job is not to do everything your prospects and clients ask of you. Your job is to give them what they need. And what they need and what they want are often two totally different things. When someone asks you what you charge for X, your job is not to just automatically give them a number or even a range. Your job is to better understand what they're looking for and what they're trying to achieve so you can better understand A if you can even help them and B if you can help them, how you could do that and for how much. When someone wants to know if you have specific experience in a specific topic or industry or field, your job is to better understand who why that information is important to them. Because in doing so you might find out what's truly important is that you know and understand them or their own target market. And there are many ways to have that level of understanding, not just the way they think or, you know, the way they might be thinking about it or approaching it. So how do you do this and how do you do this effectively? Very simple. You thank them for asking and then you respond with a follow up question. Now sure, it's a give and take. There's an art to this. You'll have to give some information that they're requesting in that back and forth exchange and process. You can't just always ask three or four follow up questions before giving them something they're going to give up and just go elsewhere. But by digging just a bit, you'll accomplish two things. First, you'll be better equipped to answer in a way that will be meaningful to them. And second, you'll position yourself as a real pro. Someone who doesn't just jump when they say jump and instead has the knowledge, the wisdom, the experience to ask good questions in order to better understand them and their objectives.
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