Interviewing is a critical and underappreciated skill. It's critical in that it's central to the research process. Whether face to face or over the phone, conducting an interview is the "how" of gathering the information that we need in the competitive sales world we live in.

Meanwhile, it's an underappreciated skill that's often left to instinct and intuition. After all, we're all good interviewers, right? Right? Sure, just ask questions and listen to the answers...

In reality, good interviewing skills have never been more valued, or valuable.

One of the keys to conducting effective interviews is to ask interesting and thought provoking questions. These are the kinds of questions that get responses like, "I have to think about that for a minute" or "No one has ever asked me that before". The more creative the questions, the more insightful the answers we get.

Here, for example, are seven of our favorites:


What's the single biggest issue facing your company today?
How will your business be different 2 years from today?
What's one thing about your company that people wouldn't expect me to know?
If money were no issue, how would you resolve this challenge?
How would your best (worst) customer describe you?
If something about this business is keeping you awake at night, what is it?
What question haven't I asked yet that I should?


Now, here's a question for you. What are some of your favorite questions? Email your favorites to info@impaxcorp.com, and we'll share them in an upcoming "Tip of the Month". Thanks in advance for your ideas and contributions!