More on Compelling Reasons

Sometimes, you need to create compelling reasons when your prospects don't have compelling reasons of their own. An example from last week's Boot Camp had a prospect whose most compelling reason seemed to be the need to get their systems serviced within four weeks. Important, but not compelling...until the the possibility exists that they may not be able get it done within four weeks...

Here is an example of how we can do that, and the urgency it creates:

Salesperson: How soon were you hoping to get this done?
Prospect: Within four weeks.
Salesperson: (pause for a few seconds) (very deep breath) That soon?
Prospect: What's wrong?
Salesperson: I'm not sure we could get to that within four weeks. How important is it for you to get this done that quickly?
Prospect: It's real important.
Salesperson:  I'm happy to call to see if we can reallocate resources but if I do that they'll want to know if I have your business.  What should I tell them?

This is another version of the Hidden Ball Trick - the way you eliminate the competition. The power of this particular approach is that you can score directly from 2nd Base!  The key ingredient to all of this is not your words or questions - it's the pause and the deep breath - the sense that you're really thinking and trying to find a way to make this work. Without that, the words won't get this done.

To see an example of this in action, watch this short movie clip from Rounders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghaGFWc1HGE

Thanks to Jeremy Lemoine from last week's boot camp for the insight into the appropriateness of this clip.  You can learn more about the Hidden Ball Trick in the book!