Business owners think about things like hiring and managing the operations of their business.  Branch managers and business bankers think about profiling business owners’ needs and selling something because they’ve got goals to meet.

When branch staff and business bankers engage prospects around the challenges they face, there are three key benefits:

1. The prospect feels the banker’s interest.
2. The banker is in a better position to advise the prospect or recommend.
3. The prospect would rarely think of leaving the bank for the services of another provider who doesn’t really know them.

Here’s a questioning strategy to help you engage prospects:

• Begin with a focus question—What are your most important goals for next year?
• Move to specifics—How are you planning to <<pick one of the goals>>?  What are the most important challenges you’ll face as you do that?  What sorts of issues are you expecting to face as you address the challenges?  What approaches will you take to address these issues?
• Use follow-up questions—What will happen if you’re not fully able to address those challenges?  What resources do you have internally?  At what point will you need to consider outside resources to support you?