You’ve seen this development before. What seems like a simple question is in fact a long list of them packaged into one. From asking why the sky is blue to what’s the perfect steak, experts always end up breaking them down to asking the specifics.

This is actually a very good habit and one you should develop in your own B2B lead generation strategy. Whether it’s defining a lead or educating a prospect, breaking down one question into many gives you more time and more opportunities to grow prospect interest.

Breaking down questions creates buyer personas.

Asking what defines the perfect customer breaks your standards down to several traits. It will also lead you to conclude that not all the best customers are the same. That means buyer personas. And as you already know, these personas allow you to:

  • Organize different prospects based on their information.
  • Adds a more human face to marketing and communication.
  • Develop further understanding of common needs in your entire target market.

More importantly, this type of breakdown isn’t a task left solely in the responsibility of either marketing or sales. Simple questions eat up time that salespeople critically need to steer a buying decision. Complex questions are difficult to answer while wasting time and creating information overload on the marketing front. This task should be evenly shared between both.

Breaking down questions teaches prospects about your industry.

Imagine yourself a fairly wealthy person who’s finally found time to engage in a hobby. You’re young, your time is now free, and you want to devote yourself to something that takes your interest. Entering a local hobby store, you ask for recommendations but what does the shopkeeper do?

It’s never a straight answer.

The best part is a customer can’t exactly fault you for making it complicated. What you’re trying to do with the questions is actually the opposite of that. You can really make this work if you focus on what the customer primarily cares about (whether their main objective is to cut overhead or simply finding the right menu for their dinner party). It gives them a clearer understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish.

Be it on your end or from your customer’s end, the habit of breaking down questions allows more information to flow. And if you know how to manage that flow, it naturally generates more interest and allows your lead generation strategy to create richer experiences.