To get our prospects eager to buy from us, we need to stretch the gap between their desired result and their current reality. What exactly does that mean?
Stretching the gap involves three main steps. We need to identify:
- Where our prospects want to be
- Where they are right now
- What’s standing in their way.
So, the first step is to get them really clear about where they want to go. I call this painting the picture.
Reconnect The Dreamer
Do you ever notice when you ask people about what they really want — what they dream of — most of them don’t have good answers anymore?
It’s as if when they were kids, they could have told you exactly what they wanted to become in tremendous detail. But now, for some reason, that’s all lost. As adults, they just want to be 10% better than they are right now.
Part of our job is to help reconnect them to the dreamer inside them.
What do you want? If we could wave a magic wand, how would you want things to be different?
With most people we talk to, it’s like they’re camped out somewhere, zipped up inside a tent. That’s the little world they live in, and in the moment, it’s all that exists. As coaches, we need to unzip the tent and say, “Hey, get out here! Look at this mountain we can climb together.”
It’s even better if you help them see the mountain for themselves without having to tell them about it.
We want to help them paint the picture of how things could be.
Ask The Right Question
There’s a phrase I learned from Dan Sullivan called The Dan Sullivan Question. I think it’s incredibly valuable in helping our prospects paint their own picture. It goes like this:
“If we were having a conversation three years from now, and we’re looking back over the time that’s passed, what has to have happened for you to feel really happy with your progress?”
There’s a lot going on in that question.
Notice, we’re not asking them what has to happen to feel good about the work we do together. It’s a bigger conversation that that. We’re focusing on the progress they’re going to make.
We’re asking what needs to happen for them to feel happy. Thinking about happiness is intrinsically motivating.
By asking how they’ll feel in three years time, you’re transporting them to the future. You’re not just asking what they would like to happen. Instead, you take them to a place where it’s already happened and now they can look back at how they got there.
The question implies your relationship will be going strong in three years.
Finally, envisioning where they want to go will bring them to an emotional high, which is essential in stretching the gap between where they want to be and where are right now.
Lots of sales processes are pain-focused. You dig for the pain, find the pain, and use the pain to sell your program. These processes can be great and they have merit, but it’s even more powerful to start with a vision of the end result and contrast it with their current reality.
This creates a dynamic tension between their dream and their pain that has to be solved. By making them aware of this tension, you position yourself as the solution. It all starts with painting a clear picture of where they want to be.
Share your thoughts below. Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you grow your coaching business:
1. Grab a free copy of my book
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3. Join our Implementation Program and be a Case Study
I’m putting together a new coaching case study group at Black Belt this month… stay tuned for details. If you’d like to work with me on your client-getting and scale plans… just send me a message with the words “Case Study”. — Click Here
4. Work with me and my team privately
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