We know the definition of insanity, right?
It’s doing the same things every day and expecting different results.
You’ve heard me say this before, but if you want to change some things in sales, you’re gonna have to change some things in sales. You’re gonna have to change what you do, what you say, how you follow up, how you set appointments, how you generate leads — you’re just gonna have to do something different if you want a different outcome. A better outcome.
Throughout the course of my career in the fitness world, I’ve developed five discovery questions that are key to opening up the mind of a prospect and guiding them towards making the decision to get involved with all you have to offer — and get involved quickly.
Cus really, when selling, that’s what we’re trying to do: Get folks to make the decision today. We’re trying to get them to improve their life, become healthier, make things easier for themselves, fix their problems, help them through to the other end of their struggles.
So get ready to make a real difference in someone’s life and revitalize your sales discovery methods in the process.
Imagine, for a moment, that you’re heading out to play a round of golf. When you get on that tee, you are the only one on the tee. You put the tee in the ground, you put the ball on the tee, you line up the shot, you get your position, you might take a couple practice swings, and then you send it out into the green.
The sales discovery process is exactly like getting ready to tee off in a game of golf.
The following questions I’m going to share with you are geared towards the health and fitness side of things, but you should be able to sit down and come up with a list of discovery questions that are relevant to your industry. The key thing is to make sure you discover what the real needs of your business are, what people think of them, and how they relate to people’s lives.
Question No. 1: How Would You Rate Your Current Fitness Level?
So the first question I like to ask is, “How would you rate your current fitness level on a scale of 1 to 10?”
This question is just to get them to start thinking about how they’re currently doing in the area of their life that your products or services can help them with. If you work in marketing, maybe you ask them to rate themselves on their social media operations or SEO endeavors; if you sell supplements or other health-related products, maybe you ask them to rate themselves on their health or diet.
Whatever the case, most people are probably going to fall into what I call the no man’s land, which is giving themselves a seven. You’re never a seven — either you’re a four, five, or six, or you’re an eight or nine, but seven is always, always no man’s land. A lot of times people don’t necessarily want to share with you the real number that they have in their mind, so they’ll turn to seven, because it’s not perfect but still seems good enough.
Question No. 2: When Were You in the Best Shape of Your Life?
This next question is to set up a parallel between how they’re doing today and how they felt when they were actually doing their best.
What’ll happen now is that they’ll roll back the videotape of their life and realize that they might not be doing as well today as they originally thought.
Question No. 3: What Were You Doing Then?
This question is to make them realize the actions they were taking during that better time in their life, and come to terms with the fact that they’re not taking those actions anymore. And start thinking, “You know, maybe I should start this up again.”
Question No. 4: If Nothing Changes, Do You Think Things are Going to Get Better? Or Do You Think They’ll Get Worse?
Now, they’ll shake their head, and say, “Nothing ever stays the same.”
They’ll realize it probably will get a little worse the longer they put it off. The longer they procrastinate, the more their body deteriorates, getting weaker, less fit, less healthy.
Question No. 5: Sounds Like You’re Ready to Make Some Change. Is That Why You Came in Here Today?
Now, they’ll nod their head, and say, “Yes, that’s why. I want to make a change. I’m tired of feeling like this, I’m tired of looking like this. I’m just sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
And that’s when you gear up for the hole in one.
I hope these questions helped you get some ideas about how to revitalize your sales discovery process. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message. I’m here to help in any way I can.
Be sure to stay tuned for next week’s blog that’s set to cover some tips about how to pre-close the sale.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. For more advice on how to get your mind, your business, and your life in shape, don’t forget to tune into my podcast every Tuesday.