The Most Powerful Question to Ask Anyone You Want to Learn From
Tim Fitzpatrick
MSP & B2B Professional Service Firm Marketing Consultant/Advisor | Fractional CMO | Build and manage your marketing engine to get where you want to go faster. | Remove Your Revenue Roadblocks
It’s impossible to accomplish anything of significance by yourself. We must enlist the help of those around us. Sometimes, help comes in the form of advice from others. Today, I’m going to share a powerful question you can ask of others to extract the most helpful information possible.
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The Most Powerful Question to Ask Anyone You Want to Learn From
It is impossible to accomplish anything of significance by yourself. We have got to enlist the help of others, and oftentimes that help comes in the form of advice. Today I want to share with you a really powerful question you can ask to extract the most helpful information possible when you talk to others.
Hi, I am Tim Fitzpatrick with Rialto Marketing, where we believe marketing shouldn't be difficult. All you need is the right plan.Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in, today. I'm super excited to dig into this.
First thing I want to say is everyone has a unique perspective. We can learn from everyone, so do not discount it. I have 35 plus years on my kids and I learn new things from them each and every day. Everyone has a perspective that we can learn from in some way, shape or form.
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Now, this question was shared with me from someone I consider a mentor, Sharran Srivatsaa. He's a super smart guy, and he calls this question that his decades in minutes framework. Here's the question. And then I'm going to break this down a little bit so that you have some further insight into it. Here's the question. Looking back at blank experience, what are the top number range, one to three, three to five things that instantly stand out for you? Say that one more time. Looking back at blank experience, what are the one to three, or three to five things that instantly stand out for you? Pretty simple question, right? It is a great question you can ask of anyone that you hope to learn something from experience that they've had.
Now let's break this down a little bit. Looking back, we are helping people reminisce. Everyone likes to reminisce. They love to go down memory lane, especially when it's a pleasurable experience. So when you say looking back, you're helping them go back in time. People love that.
Next thing in here is the range. We're not saying, what are the top X mistakes or whatever. We're saying, "Hey, what are the top one to three or three to five, whatever you feel comfortable with." In fact, frankly, play with it a little bit. I kind of lean towards one to three because then you might be able to dig a little bit deeper into some of these, but play with it and see what works best for you.But giving them a range reduces pressure. And it's very casual, which I think is going to help foster the conversation. You'll notice the word things in there. Things leave things open to that person's interpretation, which again, just makes it, I think, easier for them. The other thing that you'll notice in here is instantly. Instantly takes the pressure off. I don't want you to have to rack your brain. I just want you to tell me what comes to mind. If somebody asked me this question of the experience that I had in the first business that I was a partner in wholesale distribution company for over ten years. If somebody asked me this question, there are like two or three things that would instantly come to mind. Very quickly, I wouldn't have to think about them. And honestly, most of the time, the things that we can remember quickly are probably the most important, the things that had the biggest impact on us.
And that's the beauty in this question. Is it really hones in on extracting man, the things that have the biggest impact on them. And those are insights that we can take and figure out, "Hey, how can we use the same insights in our businesses?" The question again, looking back at blank experience, what are the top one to three or three to five things that instantly stand out for you?
Now, if you've ever seen American Pie. American Pie is one of my favorite comedy movies. I can't even remember. I think it was early 90s. I'm probably dating myself, but one of my favorite lines in that movie, the characters are talking back and forth. They're talking about meeting women and picking women up. And one of them says, "Look, you ask them questions and you listen to what they have to say and shit." That's it.
Ask this question, shut up and listen. People love to look back on their experiences. They will share their insights. And you can take those insights and figure out how can I take these insights and implement them or benefit from them in some way, shape or form? Again, that is from Sharraan Srivatsaa. He's a super smart guy. I want to give credit where credit is due because it is a fantastic question.
I hope you found this helpful. If you are struggling with your marketing, you're running into roadblocks, you're not quite sure what that next right step is for you to get to where you want to be, Hhp on over to our website at Rialto Marketing dot com. That's R-I-A-L-T-O Marketing dot com. Click on the Get a Free Consultation button. I guarantee you will get a ton of value from the call and walk away knowing what your next steps should be based on where you are and where you want to go. Thank you so much for tuning in. Until next time. Take care.
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About the Host Tim Fitzpatrick
Tim Fitzpatrick is the President of Rialto Marketing. At Rialto Marketing, we help service businesses simplify marketing so they can grow with less stress. We do this by creating and implementing a plan to communicate the right message to the right people. Marketing shouldn't be difficult. All you need is the RIGHT plan.