Asking questions = looking stupid?

If you’ve been following along with our story about Bryn Mooth, who left her 20-year publishing career to pursue a career as a freelance writer, you’ll remember our interview a month ago when she was in the glow of Week 1 of self-employment.  I interviewed her again in Week 5 to see how she’s coming along. One especially interesting topic that came up in our conversation was how asking the right questions of clients and prospects will make you look smart, not stupid. Bryn says, “People are afraid to ask questions because they think, if I do… it might dampen the impression I’m making with this prospect. But I think asking questions is a sign that you’re interested in their business… and really helps you deliver what they’re looking for instead of taking a wild shot in the dark… Take the time up front to ask a couple of smart questions so you’re not flailing when it’s time to deliver a solution.”  I couldn’t agree more. In fact, there’s whole chapter about this in my new book, The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money. In the chapter on positioning your price, there are 8 pages on asking questions, plus 20 questions to ask before you do a proposal.  In this interview, Bryn also shares how she’s: Discovering what she doesn’t know Getting better at managing her time, and making time for marketing activities Trying to build a reputation in food/healthy living Using online and social media activities, finding places to participate Using her previous career as an editor to help her get ahead Recently back from vacation, Bryn also describes how her vacation as a freelancer was different from when she was a full-timer.   What are some of the questions you ask, that get you the information you need?