Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Holding Prospect Accountable!

During coaching sessions I would ask my clients, Did you get them to committ to the meeting? They would say, "Well they said they would come." That is not the same as getting them to com mitt.

I remember when I first began my career in this most amazing industry, I was just happy I had someone tell me they would come, even though I knew they were lying to me. On top of that, some part of me actually expected them to be at the hotel meeting because they said they would be there. Well then it hit me, what was I doing when I asked a prospect to come and they didn't show, I was doing a bad job of painting the picture. Let me explain.

Painting the Picture
What I knew the meeting to be and what they "thought" the meeting to be evidently were two different pictures. When that hit me, I learned the new language to get people to get a picture that would excite them to attend. Here is what would do.

When they said they would come to the meeting, I asked my favorite question, Why? Now asking that the first time will make you feel like you are going for the throat of your prospect, the reality is, you are doing them a favor. You are helping them to get clear on the real reason they would go and listen to something they have not heard of before. It make it clear to them they will be looking for a result from the meeting and to identify what they want to achieve.

When I learned that single question, my business changed forever. Try it next time and let me know how it worked for you.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard you may be moving from the corporate training world to the public realm. Please keep me informed of your future plans.

Anonymous said...

I heard you may be moving from the corporate training world to private training. Please keep me up to date on your future plans