I’ve taken many sales courses and read sales books over the years. A common theme and smart strategy is for the prospect to convince themselves to buy your offer; and to do that you must “keep them in the pain”. It sounds awful so I’m going to break it down a bit more gracefully. 

Humans have a learned behavior to be polite. We’ve been taught that since we were 2. It’s a huge part of social conduct in school, and then in work. Being polite also hinders the sales funnel. 

Here’s How You Do It With Caring 

Say I fix widgets for a living. It’s a family entertainment contraption. A prospect calls and wants to know if I can take a look at their family widget to see if I can fix it. I take a look, say yes, and give my quote to match the amount of work and time and tools involved. 

They say, ‘oh that’s more than I wanted to spend…’ and the deal’s off. 

Why? Because they were focused on one thing – the amount of money they will have to part with all to get this silly widget fixed.

So let’s look at the same request, except this time I’m going to pretend to be an investigative reporter (I love Dateline) and chip away at the “pain iceberg”. 

Me: so tell me, how often do you use your widget, usually? 

Client: well my family and I use it on weekends for fun and laughs. Sometimes we even use it on weeknights to break down some stressful days. 

Me: so I guess you can say this widget represents relaxing family fun time, right? 

Client: yes, we’ve had a lot of laughs around this widget. 

Me: who else uses this widget? 

Client: we’re the only ones in this neighborhood with one, so we like to have our friends over to enjoy it with us. 

Me: Wow, so this widget gets a lot of use. It sounds like it’s pretty important for providing your family and your friends with some fun times. What did you use to do on weekends and stressful weekday nights before you got it? 

Client: ugh, we’d spend a lot of time individually watching Netflix or tv or just stuck with our faces in our individual gadgets. 

Me: so would you say this widget rescued your family from being swallowed up by their screens? 

Client: yes, we’re actually able to have fun and laugh and talk together because of it. So can you fix it? 

Me: yes, here’s my price. 

Client: whoa. That’s more than I wanted to spend. 

Me: I can appreciate that. What has your family done since it’s been broken? 

Client: we fell into old routines of separation. I hate it. 

Me: It sounds like you miss the family socialization that this widget was able to give you. Would you like me to repair it? 

Client: yes, I do miss being able to bring the family together. Let’s schedule you to fix it next week. 

Changing the Focus 

As you can see, this quick sample has you drilling down past the price and focusing on the true value of what your service really means to the customer. It’s no longer about a cost for a repair; it’s about bringing the family together, communicating and enjoying each other instead of each person going their own way. It’s about having friends and neighbors over to enjoy it together. 

Once you ask questions to help the client reveal the true importance and value, you don’t need to convince them to say yes. They have pulled back the curtain on their own emotional desires and decided they do need to move forward.  

Your turn:  

  • Think of all the possible reasons your clients really want, need, and value your service. 
  • Remember past conversations when clients have shown you the deeper layers of the iceberg.  
  • Make a list of non-intimidating questions you will add to your consultative session.  
  • Never be happy with a quick view of the top, polite, layer of the iceberg.  
  • Practice and modify your list of questions as you go along. 

Chip away until you see the deeper levels. It can be done with caring and grace. You want to give your client the best service and affect a transformation. To do that you need to be in on the full story. Understand that your questions are meant to provide them with the best possible service, as well as to help them realize how much they want to say yes to your offer. 

Could You Use Some Help? 

Try it out and let me know how it goes. If you’d like to briefly discuss how this might work in your field, schedule a free consultation with me. If you have a true challenge and would like us to roll up our sleeves and work on it together, book a Strategy 360. It’s a comprehensive experience aimed at getting you moving in the right direction with confidence and clarity.