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The five Questions you should ask
Networking like a Pro (Via Tony Rodgers BNI Badger Blandford)
uploaded by Mark phillips

There are five questions to help you leave a lasting impression when you’re networking with people and meeting them for the first time. So here are the five questions.
One, what do you like best about what you do? This really leads to a more interesting conversation about the other person’s business, his or her likes and dislikes, their experience, so on. It’s a much better alternative than simply asking, “So, what do you do?” Or it’s a good follow-up question after you ask, “What do you do?” “What do you do” doesn’t leave much room to maneuver in terms of questioning, so if you ask what you do and move to “What do you like best about what you do,” then they really open up oftentimes and talk more about their business.
Here’s another question (2). “You mentioned that you were in [blank] industry,” or whatever industry, “What got you in that business? What got you started in that direction?” And this gives the other person a chance to talk about their personal goals, their desires; it gives them a chance to really kind of open up about what led them into what they’re doing. It also gives insight into how dedicated they are to the profession and how proficient they may be in that profession based on how excited they are about, in effect, their story, what got them started. You’ll find that people that are business, particularly for any length of time, are really excited usually to talk about what got them into that business.
The thirdquestion to ask is, “So where else do you usually network? Is this one of the kinds of organizations you usually visit? Are there other groups that you go to?” And this really helps break the ice during maybe an awkward period just after the introductions and offers a chance to talk about something in common to both parties. They might tell you about some casual contact network somewhere that might be of interest to you that you haven’t heard about or that you haven’t gone to visit. Or you may hear about some other groups that they’re in that may be of interest to you.
Here’s the fourth question. “What are some of your biggest challenges in what you do?” which should be one of the very last things you bring up as this can be really used to give you the opportunity to learn about the other person’s challenges that they have, and it gives you an opportunity to possibly give them a referral, and I don’t mean sell them your product or service, but I mean, give them a connection or referral to somebody that might be able to help them with that challenge. It’s a technique used all the time because it gives you an opportunity to allow follow-up in an easy way. “Gee, I read an article that addresses that very challenge that you’re talking about. Would you like to see a copy of it?” And then they’ll hand me their business card, and they’ll say, “Yeah, would you mind sending that to me.” You know you’re networking right when somebody gives you their business card and says, “Would you contact me?”
And then the last question, particularly with people you want to maintain contact with, is “How can I help you?” If you decide that the person you’re talking with is someone you’d like to have in your network, this is a great question to ask, and being helpful is probably the best way to start building a solid relationship with them. Don’t underestimate the power of “How can I help you,” especially if it’s somebody that you want to network with and they’re at a higher level of business that you are. People are always hitting up really successful people; they’re always hitting them up for business or for something, they want them to buy something from them, and people are asking for something from really successful people. They rarely ask if they can help a really successful person. And if you want to make a good connection with a high level business professional, asking how you can help them is possibly a great way to do that.
So those are the five questions. They’re out of the book Networking Like a Pro.
What do you like best about what you do?
What got you started?
Where else do you usually network?
What are some of your biggest challenges?
And how can I help you?