Question 2：What is the cause of the problem？
（“As I look back over my career，I am appalled at the wasted hours I have spent in worried conferences without ever trying to find out clearly the conditions which lay at the root of the problem.）Question 3：What are all possible solutions of the problem？
（“In the old days，one man in the conference would suggest one solution.Someone else would argue with him.Tempers would flare.We would often get clear off the subject，and at the end of the conference no one would have written down all the various things we could do to attack the problem.）Question 4：What solution do you suggest？
（“I used to go into a conference with a man who had spent hours worrying about a situation and going around in circles without ever once thinking through all possible solutions and then writing down：‘this is the solution I recommend.’）“My associates rarely come to me now with their problems.Why？Because they have discovered that in order to answer these four questions they have to get all the facts and think their problems through.And after they have done that they find，in three-fourths of the cases，they don’t have to consult me at all，because the proper solution has popped out like a piece of bread popping out from an electric toaster.Even in those cases where consultation is necessary，the discussion takes about one-third the time formerly required，because it proceeds along an orderly，logical path to a reasoned conclusion.
“Much less time is now consumed in the house of Simon and Schuster in worrying and talking about what is wrong；and a lot more action is obtained toward making those things right.”
My friend，Frank Bettger，one of the top insurance men in America，tells me he not only reduced his business worries，but nearly doubled his income，by a similar method.
“Years ago，”says Frank Bettger，“when I first started to sell insurance，I was filled with a boundless enthusiasm and love for my work.Then something happened.I became so discouraged that I despised my work and thought of giving it up.I think I would have quit—if I hadn’t got the idea，one Saturday morning，of sitting down and trying to get at the root of my worries.
1.I asked myself first：‘Just what is the problem？’the problem was：that I was not getting high enough returns for the staggering amount of calls I was making.I seemed to do pretty well at selling a prospect，until the moment came for closing a sale.Then the customer would say：‘Well，I’ll think it over，Mr.Bettger.Come and see me again.’It was the time I wasted on these follow-up calls that was causing my depression.
2.I asked myself：‘What are the possible solutions？’But to get the answer to that one，I had to study the facts.I got out my record book for the last twelve months and studied the figures.
I made an astounding discovery！Right there in black and white，I discovered that seventy per cent of my sales had been closed on the very first interview！Twenty-three per cent of my sales had been closed on the second interview！And only seven per cent of my sales had been closed on those third，fourth，fifth，etc.，interviews，which were running me ragged and taking up my time.In other words，I was wasting fully one half of my working day on a part of my business which was responsible for only seven per cent of my sales！
3.‘What is the answer？’the answer was obvious.I immediately cut out all visits beyond the second interview，and spent the extra time building up new prospects.The results were unbelievable.
In a very short time，I had almost doubled the cash value of every visit I made from a call！”
As I said，Frank Bettger is now one of the best-known life-insurance salesmen in America.and writes a million dollars’worth of policies a year.But he was on the point of giving up.He was on the point of admitting failure—until analysing the problem gave him a boost on the road to success.
Can you apply these questions to your business problems？To repeat my challenge—they can reduce your worries by fifty per cent.Here they are again：
1.What is the problem？
2.What is the CAUSE of the problem？
3.What are all possible solutions to the problem？
4.What solution do you suggest？