Just Ask

It’s a simple concept, right? If you have a question, just ask.

Except it’s not quite that simple. There are thousands of reasons why people bite their tongues instead of asking questions, and many of them are perfectly valid.

Before I get into the details of why our team loves to answer questions, I think it would be good to break down some of the reasons why questions go unasked in the first place.

1. Asking the question is a waste of time

Whether you’re worried about wasting your own time, your boss’s time, your client’s time, or anybody else’s–sometimes the knowledge gained isn’t worth it. I’m still learning to bite my tongue if the cost of acquiring the information is more than the value of the information itself.

Another way that asking questions becomes a waste of time is if the person answering you isn’t really listening to your question. If you feel like the answer you receive will be off-topic or unhelpful, it’s probably best to look from an answer from someone else.

2. There is something systemic preventing questions

This is a big one that can happen in unhealthy workplaces as well as on highly-competitive teams. In the former, employees are discouraged from asking questions by co-workers or bosses that make them feel stupid for asking, or don’t make themselves available for questions in the first place. In the latter, co-workers may leverage vulnerability against you, so it feels smarter to just keep your mouth shut.

3. Answering it independently is valuable

It’s the old “teach a man to fish” concept, right? Asking questions shows curiosity, and getting results with the answers you receive is very important. However, when we solve problems on our own, we learn that answers are always a bit closer than they seemed at first.

It’s a delicate balance, but true wisdom might be knowing when to dig a bit deeper to answer a question on your own, and when to save time and ask a trusted source.

4. There is a lack of discourse preventing the right questions from being asked

This is the one that sneaks up on you. In situations like these, there’s not even enough discussion on a topic to bring about the questions that really matter.

In my experience with Katapult Pro, SaaS platforms should generate two types of questions. First, there are surface-level questions, like FAQs. “How does it work?” “How do I log in?” “How much does it cost?” and other simple questions. Answers to these types of questions should be very easy for users to find, and customer support staff should know them like the back of their hands.

The second type addresses the overall direction of the platform, as well as its growth, new features, and potential integrations. For us, these are the most important questions and often look like: “can you integrate with …..?” “how do you handle it when ……?” or “could we do …… instead?” These questions (which often go straight to the developers) ensure that the software is constantly evolving–both into what the industry needs it to be as well as what our clients need it to be. These questions only occur when users and industry experts have conversations about the topic.

If the discussion is nonexistent, these questions don’t get asked. When good questions aren’t asked, the platform becomes stagnant and dies. So what’s your point?

If you have a question about Katapult Pro, ask us! No matter what the question is, no one here will think you don’t know what you’re doing, nor will you be wasting anyone’s time. In fact, your questions are directly fueling the growth and direction of our platform.

Whether you’re convinced you accidentally deleted all the data from your job (you didn’t), or you just can’t remember the button to initiate cable tracing (it’s tilde ~), we will be more than happy to help.

Remember, we can’t help if you don’t ask. Since it’s always in our best interest to keep adding new workflows, features, and integrations, ask away!

Katapult Pro is the result of years of telecom engineering consulting, and continues to evolve as our Engineering Team (and subscribers across the country) solves newer, tougher challenges in the industry.

Shoot me an email (aschmehl@katapultengineering.com) to set up a demo or consultation with one of our Project Consultants!