If you're not making enough sales, you're not asking enough questions.

You can't get the business unless you ask for it. You can't solve a prospect's problems until you find out what they are. You can't upsell clients until you ask what they need.

To whom should you ask questions? Begin with your existing customers. Focus on the future by asking them about Phase II of the project, or about what additional products and services they might need in coming months.

Too many business professionals overlook the value of the clients they already have. Your current clients are the ones who know, trust and value you. And they're the ones who can boost your bottom line over time.

A repeat customer spends an average of 67 percent more than a new one. Also, consider that the cost of retaining an existing client is a mere 20 percent of what it costs to attract a new one.

When it comes to reaching out to prospects, it's best to ask "pain" questions. Before you can suggest "what works," it helps to know "what hurts." What frustrates and flummoxes and bothers and bewilders them about their current situation?

Examples of effective "pain" questions:

• How long has this situation been bothering you?
• How have you dealt with it?
• How's that been working for you?
• What's this problem costing you (in time, aggravation, lost revenue, etc.)?
• What's it worth to you to overcome this challenge?
• What if you could resolve this issue by _____ (e.g., the end of the year)?

Their answers to those questions, by the way, can provide you with material for future marketing campaigns. The most financially successful business professionals talk, tweet, text, comment, converse and blog about the most pressing challenges their prospects and clients face. Then, they promote their capability to help them overcome those challenges.

By doing so, they attach greater value to themselves and convey the impression that their services are a necessity rather than a frill. That's especially important in these highly competitive times, when everyone from automobile dealers to vacation resorts are vying for an individual's discretionary dollars.

When you encounter some price resistance as you attempt to close a sale, these "pain" questions can play an especially important role.

If a prospect suggests that you're "too expensive," ask: "Too expensive compared to what?" and "Too expensive compared to whom?"

Closing is a good time to revisit the "pain" issues. Ask: "How committed are you to dealing with this situation?" and "What would it cost you not to move ahead with this now?"

Asking for the sale may be the most important part of the selling process, but other questions can benefit your business, too. Ask clients for referrals and testimonials, ask vendors and suppliers for better terms, and ask the online and print media to promote information about your company.

There's no guarantee that you'll receive positive responses, and you won't get everything you ask for. But you won't get anything that you don't ask for. You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.

Are you taking enough shots? Not if your business isn't where it should be. Or could be.

Better outcomes may be only a question away.