The key line on my website reads: “Michael asks you the questions about your business that you do not want to ask yourself”.

That is one of the classic roles of a business coach or mentor. That may seem straight forward enough. However, when I describe this challenge to people, some question the importance of the proposition. This week, I was given several opportunities to take explain in detail what I meant, and I would like to share a couple of those experiences with you.

Case study number one:

I am mentoring a very commercially experienced lady, who is trying to set up a new opportunity in Jerusalem. She is doing this while not having deep financial reserves. The proposed structure will involve her using her background as a CPA to investigate new companies. Meanwhile, she knows that her own bank account is not too healthy for now.

I asked why she does not check up on her bank statements to make sure that everything is all right. To cut to the point, she answered that she was too afraid. And then I posed the following conundrum: How can you present yourself as competent to run the finances of others if you do not look after your own books in a professional manner?

Silence.

I reassured her that I understand how the numbers may not be pretty. They may even make the body shudder, briefly but involuntarily. Yet, experience dictates that when you take control of yourself, it has a positive knock-on effect with how you handle potential customers. It is as if they can trust you. (She later told me that she started checking her account that same evening).

Case study number two:

I was required to ensure that a client pay me some extra money. That is often a touchy subject, and not just for one party. Naturally, I was asked to justify my request. And then it occurred to me.

The client was not just concerned about their own cash flow, understandably. There is another factor at play. If they agree to what I request, they have to recognise that they have made serious progress.

Amazingly, that cognitive step is often very daunting for people. the default position is to be reticent. And so I questioned why they did not want to appreciate the success of what had been achieved to date.

Silence.

And it is that silence that leads to a lot of internal chatter – just above the eyebrows of my clients. And it is that mental process that suddenly jolts them forward towards their commercial vision……all of which highlights the value of top questions from a testing business mentor.