The Power of Qualifying Questions in an Independent Contracting Company

Proficiency in questioning and qualifying are vital skills and abilities for every team member working in a HVAC, plumbing, or electrical independent contracting company.   When an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical independent contracting company technician, CSR, dispatcher, and management team member has ample and thorough training to develop their qualifying skills it works to increase sales, leads, and retention.  The ability to ask great questions (qualifying) is a skill that can be easily overlooked but it is an expertise needed to build a successful and excellent independent contracting company. Possessing a strong ability for questioning and qualifying allows for these three important aspects of growth to occur:

-Guidance– No matter what the circumstance, whether you are working with a client or a coworker, the person that asks the right qualifying questions at the right time guides the presentation or conversation.  These skills are also very helpful because they allow you to lead the conversation in a subtle and respectful manner.  Most of the time, the individual answering your questions doesn’t even realize this subtle, conversational “control” is occurring.  When a presenter has the skills to gently guide and direct a presentation in the right direction it allows both parties to progress through the conversation with more ease, comfort, and efficiency.

-Answers– Asking the right qualifying questions gets you the right answers. While this may seem like a point that could go without saying, it is important to understand that asking intentional and well thought out questions will get more “truthful” and “straightforward” answers than allowing someone to pick and choose what they want to share with you.  Asking the right type of qualifying question and then being quite in order to receive an answer, allows you to read an individual’s intonation, body language, and the manner in which they respond.  Many people won’t be upfront with their feelings or thoughts (for many reasons: fear, procrastination, uncertainty, or control) so when purposeful and poignant qualifying questions are asked there is no way for someone to hide behind their silence because their verbal answer and their body language will “give them away.”

-Discovery– Questioning and qualifying skills allow you to fully qualify an individual by discovering their needs and wants.  When these desires have been uncovered it gives you the power to determine how to meet them.  It is important to remember that discovery is a two way street that leads to benefit both parties.  You have questions you need answered and they also have questions they need answered.  When you can anticipate their questions or concerns prior to the presentation, then you can handle potential objections before they become an issue.  Possessing the skill and expertise of questioning and qualifying opens the door to discovery, which allows needs to be successfully revealed.  When these needs are uncovered and validated, it naturally leads to more sales, leads, retention, and growth in service excellence inside your HVAC, plumbing, or electrical independent contracting company.

Preparing and asking the right qualifying questions allows for a thorough qualification as well as helps to guide the presentation, get straight answers, and discover needs and wants so you can know how to meet the requests.  There is power in questions! We have popular training material devoted solely to growing and enhancing a company team’s questioning and qualifying skills.  Thank you for following our weekly post. Here at Service Excellence Training we turn learning into earning!

-Resource curated by Whitney Stewart of Service Excellence Training.