When talking with people, I like to ask F.O.R.D. (Family. Occupation. Recreation. Dreams) questions. These questions are fairly simple and straightforward:
Family: How’s the family been? How’s married life? How’s the newborn?
Occupation: How’s work going? How’s business?
Recreation: Any big plans for the weekend? How was your New Years? What did you do for Thanksgiving?
The first three questions are typically the easiest questions to ask. They come very natural to many of us. However, it’s the Dreams questions that really help us understand people. This is where we discover how we can make the biggest difference in someone’s life.
Asking Dream questions is not just, “Hey, what did you dream about last night?” Some people have used the acronym F.R.O.G., with replacing Dream for Goals. It’s all around the same aspect. Some people dream of a house on the beach, or a condo in the city. Some people dream of their children attending college and being able to pay for it all. Some people dream of selling everything and living in a yurt. No matter what my clients dreams are, I want to ensure I know what their dreams are. Knowing their dreams will provide me a purpose in their life. When I’m able to help my clients accomplish their dreams, they remember that. It’s at that point that they become clients for life. That’s when they become advocates and send endless referrals.
Focusing on people’s dreams with help you accomplish yours.