I'm going to give away one of my secrets. One of the most important things for me to hear from anyone, in any conversion, is this: “that’s a really great question.” A bell goes off in my head every time I hear it. Wish I was kidding.
Going to a great school or working for a great company is all well and good. Lots of people do these things. In my opinion, one of the things that separates top performers from solid performers is the ability to distill information in a meaningful way and ask questions that move the conversation forward.
“If we don’t consider this, what are the consequences?”
“If we want to accomplish X, what is the first step we need to take?”
"Is this activity the best use of our time right now, given the circumstances?"
Taking examples to the extreme is a good way to break down barriers. Don’t be afraid to challenge conventions when conversations are in fact-finding mode. If a partner says that they can do something on a small scale, ask them if they can do the same analysis or make the same complex considerations across your entire company. Why not? It COULD potentially happen. In the example of paid search, if something can be done at the campaign level, can it be done at the keyword level?
Ask hard questions. If something doesn’t make sense to you or if you feel as though you have an itch that needs to be scratched, GO AFTER IT. Ask the question.