The Dangers of Asking the Wrong Questions

[vickieito]

Quote

“The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The true dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.” ― Peter Drucker

A wrong answer to the right question simply means that you are failing your way to success. Didn't work? That's okay, you can try something else.

Bad questions take your focus off of what is most important and can lead to costly errors.  I'm going to use myself as a "bad" example here.

Bad Question: Do I have any skills to sell on Fiverr?

I created my Fiverr account on this day exactly three years ago in Jun 2019. This was the first question I asked myself and it was probably the worst question I've ever asked about my Fiverr business (and it cost me the most).

Why it's wrong:

This is extremely limiting (there are only 2 answers - yes or no). If I answered "yes," it still wouldn't get me any closer to posting my first gig. If I answered "no," then my Fiverr career would be over even before I even had a chance to start.

The result:

I answered "no." At the time I was a process improvement specialist and after not being able to find anything in search, I gave up. I never looked at Fiverr again for 2 1/2 years (I actually forgot about it). That is 2 1/2 years of lost opportunity to do business.

A Better Question

When I came back to Fiverr in 2021, I asked a different question, "What needs do buyers have that I can solve with my skillset?"

Why it's good:

I gave myself many options. It wasn't just limited to skill A or B. It could be skill A and B. And maybe even skill C. Also, this question wasn't focused on me and what I wanted to do. It was focused on the buyers and what the market wanted.

The result:

I found a skill that the market needed. I decided I needed to take professional development courses to refine it. Then I posted my first gig in Nov 2021. Since I was focused on my customers, every time an inquiry would come through my one gig asking for something else, I would ask myself, "Is this something that I could offer my buyers with my skillset?" If the answer was "yes," then I would set up a new gig for it. I ended up with six gigs that were based on the inquiries that I got from the first gig. Now I get a steady stream of orders coming from my gigs each month and I know it's because I'm offering something that my buyers want.

More Bad Questions

I wish I could say that since then I have been asking ALL the right questions, but that would be a lie. 😅 I ask bad questions every day. And I shock myself with how terrible some of them are. Luckily I have a husband who is very honest and has a very low tolerance for stupidity, so he usually catches my errors before I get too far off track.

Below are some more of my "bad" questions, followed by my "better" questions.

1. How can I get more impressions and clicks? >>>>> Is my marketing reaching my target customers?
2. Why is no one ordering??? >>>>>> What do the customers really want?
3. How can I get more orders? >>>> How can I build a sustainable business?
4. Why do I always have to deal with this type of buyer? >>>>> What is the opportunity here? 

I found out more impressions means nothing if they're not from the right audience, more orders does not equal happiness, and issues that I have with buyers are often opportunities to increase prices, improve my packages, and refine my processes.

 

 

[smashradio]

5 hours ago, vickieito said:

 

1. How can I get more impressions and clicks? >>>>> Is my marketing reaching my target customers?
2. Why is no one ordering??? >>>>>> What do the customers really want?
3. How can I get more orders? >>>> How can I build a sustainable business?
4. Why do I always have to deal with this type of buyer? >>>>> What is the opportunity here? 

But @vickieito - my impression going down day by day congratulate me and give me workz! 

Jokes aside. Awesome post. I wholeheartedly agree. 

[vickieito]

Thanks @smashradio!

I love The Rock! Wish I could look that cool! 😎

18 hours ago, smashradio said:

 

[smashradio]

6 hours ago, vickieito said:

Thanks @smashradio!

I love The Rock! Wish I could look that cool! 😎

 

The Rock is awesome! Now I wanna watch The Rundown. 

Edited June 4, 2022 by smashradio