A funny thing happened when I started hosting my What’s Working Now podcast.
I thought I was going to learn what top producers were doing. I did. But I learned something else too.
The more curious I became, the better the conversations got. That probably shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did.
Early in my career, I thought success was mostly about having the right answers
- The right presentation.
- The right script.
- The right pitch.
The older I get, the more I think success has a lot more to do with asking the right questions.
When I’m talking to a Loan Officer, a Branch Manager, a friend, or a podcast guest, I’m usually less interested in what I can tell them and more interested in what I can learn from them.
- Why did you get into this business?
- What’s working right now?
- What are you struggling with?
- What book changed the way you think?
- Why did you come to Partners?
- Why do you stay?
I’ve probably learned more from asking those questions than I have from many of the sales courses I’ve taken over the years.
One of the things I love about interviewing successful people is that they rarely give the answer I expect. Just when I think I know where the conversation is going, they’ll say something that completely changes my perspective.
That’s the reward for being curious.
- You discover things you weren’t looking for.
- I’ve noticed something else too.
- People can tell when you’re genuinely interested in them.
We’ve all been in conversations where someone is just waiting for their turn to talk.
- The difference is obvious.
- One feels like a transaction.
- The other feels like a relationship.
- And relationships tend to last a lot longer.
When I look back at the people who’ve influenced me the most, almost all of them shared one trait.
- They were curious.
- They read.
- They asked questions.
- They listened.
- They paid attention.
They never acted like they had everything figured out.
- Maybe that’s why they kept growing.
- The funny thing about curiosity is that it costs nothing.
- You don’t need a degree.
- You don’t need a title.
- You don’t need permission.
You just need to care enough to ask a question and listen to the answer. That’s something I’m still working on. And probably always will be.
So, I’m curious…
What’s a question someone asked you that changed the way you think?