Ask, "What was it that made you want to meet with me today?" Then listen.
Offering a great service is not good enough. You need to learn the subtle art of enrolling clients through conversations.
“Professionals tell me they don’t want to think of themself as a salesperson,” says business development expert David Goldman. “You may want to grow your business, increase your client base, and actually sell more services. But sales is an unwelcome concept.”
Finding high-paying clients is really an enrollment process. But what do you say to enroll prospects?
“At your best, you enroll someone into the possibility that your product or service is for them,” says Goldman, who I met when I helped him edit a book about how to get what you really want in life, including the right clients.
Goldman has helped attorneys, financial advisors and other professionals double revenues through a simple five-step enrollment process:
Step one is there must be some background of relationship. “Some rapport must be established,” says Goldman. “This doesn’t have to be elaborate, nor does it have to take a great deal of time to do. Without it, however, nothing will go further. It could be an introduction or a referral from someone else. It could be meeting someone at a function or a business gathering. It could even be from a completely unknown source. But there must be a relationship. You can establish this with a simple question. Ask, ‘What was it that made you want to meet with me today?’ Then listen. That will be enough to establish that there is a relationship.”
Step two is the conversation for possibility, the most important part of the process. “The entire deal hinges on this piece,” says Goldman. “Once there is a relationship, possibility is the most important part of the process. The conversation for possibility is simply establishing the possibility that your product or service could be for the client or prospect. This is where the entire reason for your service is brought to light, in complete detail. In fact, the more said about the possibility of your offering, the better. Here’s the catch: The conversation for possibility must come from the client’s or prospect’s mouth. So, you must ask the kinds of questions that elicit the appropriate response from the other person.”
The third step is the conversation for value. “As with the conversation for possibility, the conversation for value must also come from the prospect or client,” says Goldman. “You say, ‘Let’s suppose that I can help you make all of the things on your list happen. What would the value of that be, in real terms, in your life?’ Be prepared for them to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Do not accept that answer. Simply say, ‘I realize that it’s not an easy question. However, take a look. What would it be worth to you?’” Be prepared for fuzzy, vague, general answers. You must stay focused on getting a real number that represents what the prospect thinks the value of your product or service would be.
Step four is the conversation for opportunity. “Now you get to talk about your program or service,” says Goldman. “You can tailor what you have to say based on what the client is looking for. This is not meant to be manipulative in any way. If your service is not what the client is looking for, simply say so and refer someone else to the client and move on. Explain how your service works. Don’t overdo it. Remember, less is more.”
Step five is the call to action. “No matter how smoothly the rest of the process goes, you still must ask for the business,” says Goldman. “I say: ‘I only have one close, and I usually tell you when it’s coming—pretty soon. First, do you have any questions?’ Answer any questions they might have. My favorite closing question is, ‘On a scale of one to ten, where one means you never want to see me again and ten means you are ready to start tomorrow, where are you? What will it take to get to ten?’”
Goldman says you could also simply ask, “Does this make sense? Are you ready to proceed?” Or, “Here’s the next step; when do you want to start?”
The bottom line: no prospect wants to be sold, but many would enjoy being enrolled.
