You’ve built the list, made the attempts, got around the gatekeeper, made your intro, hooked them with your curiosity statement, and now you’re in a conversation…so now what? Now you help your client engage in a deeper dialogue so they can truly discover if they need your help with solving a problem. The way of doing so is by leveraging the 3 magic questions.
So, what are the 3 magic questions and how do they help?
1. Can you tell me more/can you be more specific/can you give me an example?
Emotions dominate the decision-making process. This means that any verbal or non-verbal communication you have with your prospect, should be geared toward connecting with them emotionally to uncover their “emotional level”. An emotional level is what the client’s core motivations are and what helps to fulfill their emotional needs. These are often unexpressed and hard for clients to even articulate–in some cases, clients aren’t even unaware of what their own emotional needs are because they are so hard to define. Whether clients know it or not, or can even articulate it, they desire to be emotionally connected to you. So, asking them for examples or specifics is a great way of getting them emotionally involved.
2. Because of that, what’s the impact/what’s happening?
a. You’re in business because you provide solutions. You’ve got answers. You’re the one with the plan. The tricky part of this situation though, is ensuring that the problem that the prospect is attempting to solve is the actual problem that exists. That is where the second magic question comes in. Asking them the second magic question can help you get to the root of a problem. By digging deeper into the prospect’s business challenges, you may find there are bigger problems that need to be sorted.
3. With or without my help, is this something that gets solved or is it a thorn in your side that you will have to continue to deal with?
a. Not only does this question make the client get their wheels turning, this question is also a transition to #nextsteps: scheduling a meeting to talk about everything more deeply, how things are going, what isn’t working, what they want to work better etc. Depending on your client’s answer, it’s a way for you to assure your prospect that you have some high-level information to offer them and that you can help them. Using #nextsteps is a great way at being proactive, it doesn’t give your prospect an easy out or a way for them to subsequently drop off the map. Ending every interaction with a question–like the 3rd magic question–keeps things open-ended and allows the conversation to continue.
For more on leveraging the 3 magic questions check out the video below!
Contact EBS today!
Getting leads is tough, but it’s just the start. Once established as a prospect, it is your duty to convert them into clients. EBS growth can help you get the ball rolling by helping create a plan, and getting creative. That way you can begin to optimize this process and become a top seller.