Tired of trying to convince skeptical prospects to try your
products or services? Is there a way to make what you say far
more believable?
Can you go so far as to make what you say automatically
accepted?
Yes! Absolutely.
It has to do with the way you organize your language-the order
in which you say things. And, of course, what you choose to say.
It's simple and effective. And with just a bit of attention
and practice, you will find people agreeing with your every word.
There are many different methods taught about bringing a
prospect to final agreement. The most common is one offered by
almost every sales training program around-the 'yes set'.
The theory behind the 'yes set' is that if you elicit enough
'yeses' during your conversation, your prospect will
automatically say 'yes' when you ask for the order or other
action.
Here's an example of the 'yes set' as taught in
"traditional" sales classes.
Salesman: "Mr. Smith?"
Prospect (Mr. Smith): "Yes."
Salesman: "Mr. John Smith?"
Prospect: "Yes."
Salesman: "Thank you. Mr. Smith, my records indicate that
you are the vice-president of purchasing. Is that right?"
Prospect: "Yes."
Salesman: "Great. May I ask you a question?"
Prospect: "Yes."
Salesman: "If I can show you a way to save costs on your
inventory, you would be interested in taking a look, wouldn't
you?"
And on and on in that manner-both boring and obvious! Yuck!
Do you see the pattern there? What happened for you as you
read this or were subjected to it? If you're like me, you were
somewhat insulted. You immediately recognized the ploy. You
stopped listening and gave your full attention to devising a way
to escape!
So, what is the answer? How can you get people to say 'yes'
without using out-moded tactics such as this?
It's simple. Learn to use verbal pacing and leading.
Verbal pacing and leading is effective because it
automatically sets up an 'unconscious yes set.' And unlike the
above example, you can use this in your written marketing
materials as well.
Before we investigate just what an 'unconscious yes set' is,
let's get clear on some terms:
Conscious:
What you are aware of in yourself and your surroundings. What
you are paying attention to right now. This includes your
thoughts as you read this or prepare to make a presentation, or
your awareness of the look on your prospect's face as you talk.
Unconscious:
What you are not aware of and not paying attention to right
now. An example of this might be the feel of your clothes on your
body, the speed of your breathing, or the amount of light
available for you to read this.
Unconscious also refers to that which happens automatically.
If you are driving down the street and a child runs out in front
of you, how long do you have to consider stopping? Probably not
long. In fact, your foot seems to hit the brake without any
conscious thought or decision on your part!
So, the definition of the unconscious includes both that which
you are not aware of and that which happens automatically.
Yes set:
As mentioned earlier, a yes set usually refers to a set of
questions designed to draw a "yes" response from your
prospect. When your prospect says enough yeses during the
presentation, she becomes conditioned to agree with you. And when
you ask her for the order, she will say "yes".
Verbal pacing and leading:
A sophisticated method of associating things that are
true with things that you'd like people to believe are true. A
technique that enables you to eliminate disagreement and get
others to agree with you as a natural consequence of listening to
what you are saying.
Pacing:
Talking about things that can be immediately proven to be true
or things that are commonly accepted as true.
Leading:
Talking about things that you want the other person to believe
that have not as yet been proven true or may not be commonly
accepted as true.
Some examples of statements that would qualify as pacing are:
1. Doctor visits are increasing by leaps and bounds in
America! There is more heart disease and obesity than ever
before.
2. The nutritional value of our food has been decreasing
dramatically over the years.
3. Our air, food and water contain many kinds of toxins and
poisons.
4. Most people would love to feel better, to have more energy.
5. You must understand the problem before you can find an
effective solution.
6. We are all made up of protons, electron, neutrons.
Now list some of your own pacing items. Remember, these should
be things that your prospect has conscious awareness of and are
generally seen as true. You may even wish to mention specific
articles that recently appeared on the news or in the paper in
your prospect's area.
Leads are anything that you want people to believe. Here are
some examples of statements that could be considered leads:
1. What we have been doing isn't working. Using commonly
available vitamins and minerals isn't enough.
2. If nutritionists and doctors really understood the problem,
the population would be getting healthier instead of experiencing
an increase in disease.
3. The answer to our problem lies in providing the appropriate
electrical matrices to our bodies.
4. There are products that provide these appropriate
electrical matrices.
5. You will experience a strong positive benefit to your
health by using our products.
What are some of your own leads? What might you want your
prospect to believe as true?
Do you begin to see the difference between pacing and leading?
Pacing statements are those that are obviously true. You just
can't take exception to them! That's what makes them so powerful.
Leading statements are not necessarily proven or may not yet
be commonly recognized as true, but they are what you want your
prospect to believe.
Now let's look at our elevator speech:"You know how your
body's just made of molecules, atoms, electrons? So you're ALL
electrical. And we show you how to use state-of-the-art
electrical nutrition to get an energy explosion!"
Pace- "You know how your body's just made of
molecules, atoms, electrons?"
Pace- "So you're ALL electrical."
Lead- "And we show you how to use state-of-the-art
electrical nutrition to get an energy explosion!"
Try reading just the lead statement alone. Leave the
"And" off and start with "we". I'll bet
you've tried approaching a prospect with an introductory
statement that addresses the end result you want. (such as,
"are you ready to buy if you get the right price" etc.)
Tough sell, wasn't it?
Now precede the lead with the paces-which is the obvious fact
that everyone's body is made of molecules, atoms and electrons.
After all, we learned that in 7th grade science class. Common
knowledge.
Then the next pace-that we are all electrical. It follows
logically from the first pace.
After the paces, the lead just seems to grow naturally out of
them. Powerful, isn't it
Each time you use a pace, your prospect's unconscious says
"yes". Only this is so subtle (albeit powerful) that
nobody thinks of it as an assault. Instead, you create an
environment that is comfortable. One that supports the other
person in moving with you toward your desired end.
When you use these techniques, begin with two or three pacing
statements followed by a lead. But don't just rattle off a list
of pacing statements or questions. Engage your prospect in a
conversation-make it flow easily. Ask for short responses from
your prospect, selecting pacing statements that he or she is
almost guaranteed to agree with!
Then you may gradually reduce the number of pacing statements
before you add a lead. After a while, you can even follow a
single pacing statement with a number of leads.
Pace, pace, pace, lead;
Pace, pace, lead, lead;
Pace, lead, lead, lead.
Now, take just a moment and do this. On a sheet of paper, draw
a vertical line down the middle. On the left side, list 10 or 15
paces. On the right side, 10 or 15 leads.
Practice out loud, saying two or three paces and then a lead.
Then a few more paces and a couple of leads. Keep doing this,
with various paces preceding your leads. When done well, this
should have a rhythm, with the paces following logically from the
previous lead. As you practice, you will find this becomes almost
second nature!
Make your leads easy to accept and move your prospect smoothly
towards the outcome you want.
Next opportunity you have, use pacing and leading. You'll find
agreement everywhere you turn!
© 1997 Kenrick E. Cleveland
Kenrick E. Cleveland
Trained and certified the trainers that conducted the
training for Home Fed Savings and Loan (now Home Fed
Bank). All bank personnel were trained from the tellers
to the Vice-President. They credited this training with
increasing their net deposits by $1,000,000,000
(1 Billion) and their cross sales ratio increased
by 35%.
Co-trained with Jay Abraham in all 6 of Jay's
"Protege Training's". The Wall Street Journal
called this, "The world's most expensive training
ever", at $15,000 per person attending.
Created the model being copied and emulated by many in
the field, including the model being used extensively in
Seduction.
From 1989 - 1990 trained approximately 5000 Independent
representatives in the NuSkin Corp. An MLM.
Worked with Robert Allen (Author of Nothing Down, Nothing
Down for the 90's, Creating Wealth etc.) in the role of
Master Trainer, and trained thousands of his students in
skills of persuasion.
Kenrick E. Cleveland : kenrick@nwlink.com
Ph : 253-476-3199
Website: http://www.maxpersuasion.com
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