“So, what exactly is it that you sell?” This is one of the first questions I ask new clients when we start working together. As you can imagine, most of the time they would respond with either the product name, the type of product or service they sell or the process in which they deliver their product or service.

While this may be what the final deliverable would be, it’s not exactly what you are selling. The fact is, the product doesn’t always, as the old adage goes, “sell itself.”  

Instead, consider that the prospect is actually purchasing the end result of your product or service or, said another way, their desired state of where they want to be. (I dedicated an entire chapter to developing your compelling reasons in may last book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cold Calling.) 

Here are some examples that advertisers use to paint a visual picture of the desired state that their target audience wants. 

·         Lose 20 pounds in two weeks.

·         Look younger in 30 days.

·         Cut your debt in half.

·         Find your ideal relationship.

·         Discover your dream job today.

·         Fill your practice in less than three months

Now, painting the vivid picture of the end result your prospects will experience from buying your product or using your service is only half the equation. While you may be able to communicate a clear benefit the prospect will experience from your product, that doesn’t mean the benefit is strong enough for them to make a change. Selling the prospect where they want to be may stimulate good conversation but does it move the prospect into action? 

Let me say this in a different way. The product or service the prospect is currently using may be “just fine” or “good enough.” And if it’s good enough, then why should the prospect spend money and time to make a change? The fear of change is the biggest fear of all when it comes to making a purchasing decision of any magnitude.  

Ouch, That Hurts! Selling the Pain 

Before you can enroll someone in purchasing the desired state/benefits you can deliver on, there has to be enough pain or discomfort in their present state that would motivate them enough to take action and want to make a change. So, sell them where they don’t want to be. 

Therefore, you need to uncover what their current pain is and the cost of not making a change. What does it cost your prospects by not changing their current condition and keeping things just the way they are? Does it cost them money, time, stress, productivity, lost sales, a potential hazard, a great employee, their health? 

Help the prospect visualize the advantage of moving from their present state to their desired state. Once you can uncover what their pain is through the use of well crafted questions, then and only then can you paint the picture of moving the prospect from their “painful” present state or condition to their desired state of benefits.  

If you are in good health, you do not visit the doctor. (Unless you go to the doctor for annual check-ups in order to prevent a future pain from occurring.)If you are currently employed and happy with your job, chances are, you are not actively seeking new employment.  

If you were sick, you want to get better. The pain associated with being sick encourages you to seek help to become healthy again. If you are miserable at your current job, or unemployed, this pain may be the driving force which is pushing you to find a new job in order to pay off your debt or start enjoying your life and career again.  

There was a story of an officer in the army who did a fabulous job enrolling the new recruits in the government benefits available to them.  

Officer Murphy was assigned to the induction center, where he advised new recruits about their benefits, especially their GI insurance. 

It wasn't long before Captain Miller noticed that Officer Jones was having a staggeringly high success-rate selling the government insurance policy to nearly 100% of the recruits he advised. Rather than asking him about this, the Captain stood at the back of the room and listened to Officer Murphy’s presentation. 

Murphy explained the basics of GI Insurance to the new recruits. “Nothing different here,” thought the Captain.  After Officer Murphy explained the basics, he then shared the following insight with the new recruits. “If you are killed in a battle and have a GI Insurance, the government has to pay $200,000 to your beneficiaries. However, if you don't have a GI insurance and get killed in the battle, the government only has to pay a maximum of $6,000." 

"Now," he concluded, "Which group do you think they are going to send into battle first?" 

As you can see, Officer Murphy did a great job extracting and then sharing the pain or cost of not purchasing the GI insurance in a way that the new recruits could understand and certainly relate to. The cost of not purchasing the insurance was now greater than the cost of purchasing the policy. 

One universal and timeless truth when selling; pain is a greater motivator than pleasure. In order for a prospect to buy from you, the cost of not changing must be greater than the cost of making a change.