A prospective customer who approaches Jon Voigt’s firm about a project is likely to hear one question a lot: Why? Voigt and his team aren’t just mimicking the inquisitive phase of childhood. They’re gathering critical information.

More than half of what you’re likely to hear from clients in an initial meeting or phone call is the ‘want list’ says Voigt, the co-founder and CEO of Toronto-based cloud content management system builder Agility. Clients will often come in with a fixed idea of the solution or product they’re looking for, so they’ll skim over a crucial subject: their goals. “They think, I know what my goal is. I’m going to figure out what I want and need to do that, and [that’s what] I’ll tell them,’ says Voigt.

That’s not good enough. It’s possible to fulfill a customer’s wants and needs but get to a different outcome than their actual initial goal, notes Voigt. Here’s how he and his team figure out what their clients’ real goals are and help meet them.
1. Pick service-minded people

When Agility was founded in 2002, Voigt took charge of the technology while his then-business partner handled sales and marketing. But now that he’s in sole charge, Voigt doesn’t simply hire in his image. Many of Agility’s employees come from outside the technology world.

What Voigt looks for is an instinct and talent for service. “They want to make sure the customer’s successful, and they naturally keep working with them to … figure out what their goals are,” he explains.

Finding such workers isn’t easy, so Voigt has developed ways of identifying whether a job candidate has the necessary mindset. “We ask them ways that they’ve used service in the past or shown really good service, and seen a good result,” he says. References are also asked if a candidate would exhibit Agility’s core values if they were to be hired.
2. Listen, listen, listen

That’s the mantra Voigt emphasizes to his employees. As soon as a prospective client gets in touch, Agility is trying to figure out what their goals are and how to meet them. “We take the [first] phone call as a requirement-gathering initiative, and we try to absorb as much [as we can],” Voigt says.

It’s also crucial to get buy-in from all the stakeholders in the customer organization. “Make sure you get as many people involved that could influence the end-goal [as possible],” he says. Final decision-makers and employees with responsibilities related to the project may not feel the need to participate early on, but Agility makes an effort to involve them anyway.