Tag: sales conversation

Your goal during discovery sales conversations is to bring prospective clients to clarity about their situation, so that they can face it and feel the urgency to change.

You accomplish that by asking them four main questions.

Last time, I shared the first two: “What are you looking to accomplish?” and “What is the biggest problem in your business right now?”

Here are the other two questions:

Question 3
With the third question, you’re assessing their awareness while helping them get clear. You ask, “Why do you think you have that problem?”

Again, don’t argue with them or challenge their perception.

You’re not trying to show how wrong they are or how smart you are.

You want to draw the clarity out of them, which isn’t going to happen if you’re making them feel defensive.

You can tell them what’s wrong with their business until you’re blue in the face. But until they see it for themselves, there’s no sale.

So even if you think they’re wrong, listen to what they’re saying.

The Art of Listening
In order to listen, you have to be out of your own head.

If you have a clatter of mental noise, if you’re thinking, Is this person going to buy? or What do I say next? you’re only listening to yourself.

You want to listen to them, but even more than that, you want to really hear them. Remember, we listen with our ears, but we hear with our emotions.

If you can hear what your prospective client is saying with your own feelings, and then give that empathy back to them in the form of the fourth question, you will influence them every single time.

Question 4
When you ask the fourth question with empathy, your prospects will feel permission from you to be authentic, and to tell you the truth.

At the same time, you want to convey a tone of authority, so that they feel confident in you as well.
So energetically, you lean in, and with that compassionate yet authoritative tone, you ask:

“How badly do you want this to change?”

If you’re compassionate and they’re authentic, the question will elicit emotion. There may be tears. There may be anger. There may be excitement.

And you will know instantly if the person is ready to make the change. If they are ready to buy.

Don’t respond by, then, going into a lot of detail about your product or service. People are not buying based on what your product or service contains.

They’re buying the outcome that they finally feel is possible for them.

If you start going into the details, you’re going to destroy that urgency to change that you’ve been building over the entire conversation.

Like sticking a pin into a balloon, the urgency is gone, and you’ve lost the sale.

What you want to do is stay present with them and solidify the commitment. Begin the relationship that will enrich both of your lives.

I absolutely love sales. It totally lifts my spirit, because it is the first step to change in a person’s life.

Without the sale, nothing happens.

The prospects just sit in their prison cells, never realizing that the life they want is attainable, if they’d just shift their perspective and reach outside their bars.

Fortunately, they have you.

Clarity Brings Urgency
When you’re successful during a discovery conversation with a prospective client, you’ve brought them to clarity about their situation, which, in turn, gives them the urgency to change.

Let me say that again, with clarity comes the urgency to change.

Part of the reason that people stay stuck is they’ve pushed their problem so far into the future that they can’t see it. One day, they’ll make enough money to take vacations. One day.

The problem is, “one day” will never come. Your prospects will stay stuck until they finally realize that there is only now.

If they want to increase their income, if they want the life of their dreams, now is the time to act.

To help guide them to that clarity, which, again, they have to realize for themselves, you want to ask them four simple questions. Here are the first two:

Question 1
The first question you ask during the discovery conversation with a prospect is some version of “What are you looking to accomplish?” It’s plain, simple and direct.

You do want to tailor that question to your specific business, product or service. For example, if you’re a financial planner, it makes sense to ask, “How much money do you want to make?”

Regardless of the wording you choose, after you ask the question, be quiet. Just listen, and they will tell you what you need to know about them.

Question 2
Next, you want to ask, “What is the biggest problem in your business (or life) right now?”

With this question, you’re finding out what they want and need, but, more important, they’re beginning to get clear about their problem.

After you ask the question, again, don’t say a word. Let them tell you what they think their problem is.

If you think that they’re incorrect about the nature of their problem, don’t tell them that or argue with them, because that does no good.

In fact, almost everyone’s answers to one or more of these questions will be wrong. That doesn’t matter.

What matters is that they’re starting to get clear in their minds that they have a problem, and they’re bringing that problem from some nebulous future into the present, where they can finally face it.

Look at it this way, if you have to tell them what their problem is, they haven’t accepted it yet in their mind.

And if they haven’t accepted it yet, if they’re saying, “I want to think about it” they still have unanswered questions. And, if that’s the case, there’s no way they’re moving forward.

In order to bring them to clarity and urgency and clinch the sale, you need to ask them two more questions. You’ll find those here next time.

You can’t tell people that you’re the right mentor for them. They’ll just get defensive and resist. You have to influence them so that they have that thought themselves. If the idea to work with you is their own, they’ll listen to it.

If you position yourself correctly to your ideal clients (Pillars 1-3), and then apply the 4th Pillar, this will happen automatically, and they will want to do business with you.

How do you apply the 4th Pillar?

You ask them questions during a discovery conversation that lead them to connect powerfully with their own truth.

The Discovery Conversation
During this conversation, two things need to take place simultaneously:

1. Control. You must control the conversation. This is essential for influence.

2. Discovery. You need to discover where they are in relationship to what they want and don’t want. Where are they in relationship to the problem?

You accomplish both of those goals by asking questions.

If You’re Telling, You’re Not Selling
Notice that I said you’re asking questions. You’re not telling them what to do or how they should be thinking about their problem or even what their problem is.

The old adage: “If you’re telling, you’re not selling” is 100% accurate. There are very few times during a sales conversation when you tell the prospects anything.

The first is in the beginning when you set up the parameters of the conversation.

And the second is at the end, when you tell them that you need their credit card and a signed contract.

Now, a couple of times you may need to move the conversation in another direction. You have to give it a little jolt because it got off course.

Why Are Questions so Important?
When you tell people what’s wrong with them or what they need, they get defensive, like I said. They go into their stories, and try to escape.

That’s when you’ll start to hear “objections,” such as they can’t afford it or it’s not the right time or they need to think about it.

The real issue is that they’re not clear yet. They likely don’t understand what their actual problem is, and they definitely can’t see its solution.

But no amount of you telling them what that problem is will bring them to clarity.

Asking them questions, however, can.

When you ask questions, you’re in your power, and you also put them in theirs.

Your questions uplift them. They lift up in their mind a different way of thinking about their problem, and they begin to connect the dots.

If you’ve followed the 4th Pillar, as I’m laying it out, they can finally see the true nature of their problem as well as its solution.

So what exactly do you ask them?

I’ll share those four questions with you next time.

We’ve all been taught how to politely greet another person. We don’t even have to think about it.

I put out my hand and say, “Hi, my name is David. Nice to meet you.”

More than likely the other person, let’s call her Samantha, will soon ask me an introductory question, such as, “What do you do?”

How I respond to that seemingly innocuous question during a business or networking event has a dramatic impact on my bottom line.

Here’s why.

“Are You Like Me or Not?”

When we meet someone, our subconscious mind quickly decides into which of the following three categories to file the person:

• This person is like me,

• This person is different from me and can help me, or

• This person is different from me and can’t help me.

If you simply answer introductory questions, the other person is going to determine, This person is like me. You’re a peer, a colleague or a potential friend.

That is actually the death knell to influence and sales. You don’t want to be seen as a peer, but as a person of influence, as someone who has the ability to make a difference in people’s lives.

So what do you do instead?

Polarize

You polarize the conversation. Rather than responding to introductory questions, ask your own questions to quickly determine if the person is your ideal client or not.

For instance, when Samantha asks me what I do, instead of answering her, I say, “Let me ask you a question. If your annual income instantaneously became your monthly income, what in your life would change?”

Because I did not respond as she expected, her subconscious mind says, This person is different from me.

Then she will either say, “Gosh, I don’t know. That’s interesting. I’ve never thought about that before.” Or she’ll attempt to make something up.

My next question quickly determines if she’s a potential client for me or not. I ask her, “Would you like it if your annual income became your monthly income?”

If her answer is no, I’ve probably triggered something that she’s resisting and she’s going to move away from me.

That’s okay, because she is not my ideal client. My ideal clients don’t answer no to that question.

But if she says something like, “Who wouldn’t want to turn their annual income into a monthly income!” she’s shown me that she’s a potential client.

I then say, “If you’ve got about 15 minutes, I’d like to talk to you about how I could show you how to do that. Why don’t we get you on my calendar?”

Find Your Own Way

Since we’re all conditioned to answer questions, you’ll likely need to practice this technique before you feel confident in it.

When you’re practicing, don’t just parrot what I said. Find the questions that will quickly identify your own ideal clients.

And then you’ll find, in any business setting, that you can quickly position yourself as a person of influence and begin to rake it in.

In this series I’m teaching you how to master the art of influence, so you have the power to change business problems into profitable opportunities ~ including turning the objections of your prospects into iron-clad commitments.

Part of that process involves identifying which of the four main styles feels most comfortable to you when conducting sales conversations.

Are you:

• The “warm friend”?

• The “stern parent”?

• The “seducer”?

• Or the “shamer”?

Being able to name your natural sales style is important, so that you can then ask yourself why.

The Why

Why does it feel more comfortable for you to employ that particular style in your sales conversations?

You want to know the answer to that question so that you can determine whether or not your comfort stems from emotional weakness.

For instance, are you their “friend,” because you know that warmth, enthusiasm and good will can encourage prospects to take a scary leap of faith? Or, are you friendly in your sales conversations because you’re afraid you’re going to upset somebody? Or because you have the need to be liked?

Are you the “seducer,” because you think that sex appeal is your only appeal and the only way to get people to listen to you? Or, are sensuality and a playful allure natural expressions that draw people to you like a magnet?

Are you the “shamer” because you have the need to belittle others in order to feel superior? Or do you truly want to help people step into a new and uncomfortable change ~ and you know that this style is very effective in psychologically triggering the audience to accept the offer.

Is the “stern parent” comfortable because you always have to be in control? Or, do you know that your direct and matter-of-fact truth-telling are the best swords for cutting through the haze of your prospects’ denial and fear?

Now What?

As you can see, there are potential positives and negatives associated with each style. So what do you do if your why stems from a weak place?

First, you need to face that weakness, and acknowledge what it’s costing you and your clients.

For example, it’s likely decreasing your sales, undermining your influence with others, and greatly diminishing your effectiveness as a leader, teacher or coach.

Next, you need to start influencing yourself. You don’t necessarily need to change the style that feels comfortable to you, just get rid of the fear that currently fuels it.

For example, let’s say, like a lot of people, you have a warm friend style because you’re afraid of making somebody upset. If that’s the case, you need to push through that fear and give yourself another experience.

So the next time in a sales conversation, when you feel that inner prompting to speak up or tell the truth or guide the conversation to an uncomfortable place, and you’re afraid to, do it anyway.

Show yourself that you and the other person can survive a little upset.

In fact, not only can you both survive it, but your pushing through your own fear can lead to a breakthrough for both of you.

And then your warm encouragement can be the perfect soft landing to then guide your prospect to his or her next step.

What is that next step?

Very likely, it’s working with you.

Hi David!

Sales question for you…

The biggest obstacle in my sales happens when I get an email from a prospect that goes something like this:

Hi Al,

I’m interested in working with you. Can you send me a list of your programs and the price for each?

In the past, I’ve always sent the information they were requesting, but then I rarely hear back from them, and since I don’t have their number, I can’t call to follow up.

I’d love to know how you’d respond.

Thanks!

You don’t know if your programs or services can help someone unless you speak with them, AND if they are considering working with you directly, you don’t know if you want to help them.

Also, if they are basing their decision on price, chances are they are not going to choose the program that’s actually going to solve their problem.

Here is an example of a great response that positions you well and is also in service to your prospect.

Dear Prospect,

Thank you so much for inquiring about my services. However, simply giving you a price for my programs without having a conversation to discuss the unique needs of your business, your goals, and your vision is not in service to you and something I simply will not do.

I’d be happy to offer you a 15 min conversation to determine which program might best meet your needs and if at any time, you believe your time is wasted, we can say our goodbyes and move on.

Please respond to this email with 3 times that may work for us to connect in the next several days.

I look forward to connecting with you!

This short email makes a clear statement that you are not interested in working with people who are discount shoppers, and allows you to remain in control of the conversation.

If they don’t respond with dates and time to connect, you know they most likely would not have invested with you in the first place.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost
program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost
program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost
program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost
program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.