With this approach, you first pose the main decision with a question. Then, without pausing, you ask another question which not only confirms that they’re going ahead with your offer, but also invites them to make ownership decisions as well.
Here’s an example that’ll make it clear.
Let’s say Tony is considering whether to invest in a top-performing mutual fund that you offer. When you sense that the moment is right, say this:
“Well, Tony, the way I see it, it looks like the only decision we have to make today is how soon you’ll start building your wealth and seeing your investment account grow in size – by the way, would you like to set up automatic investments to help you save time and effort, or will you make the deposits on your own?”
And next, here’s how you can use this approach with a service you’re offering:
“Well, Mary, to me, it looks like the only decision we have to make today is how soon you’ll start enjoying both the convenience as well as the cost savings that you’ll get from receiving regular delivery of your supplies through our free shipping service – by the way, would you like these delivered to you once a month, or would some other schedule work better for you?”
Now, you can easily adapt this approach to your product or service. To do this, first, you introduce the main decision with these words:
“The way I see it, the only decision we have to make today is how soon . . .“
Then, without pausing, you follow through with the second question by using this lead-in phrase:
“By the way, . . .”
So, to summarize, in order to use this approach effectively, you’ll want to:
- State the major decision in terms of the benefit to the prospect.
- Avoid pausing between posing the major decision and asking the second question.
- Ask the second question in a way that both confirms that they’re going ahead with your offer, as well as invites them to make ownership decisions.
In other words, say, “The only decision . . . is how soon you’ll start enjoying [benefit].”
On the flip side, what you don’t want to do is pose the main decision in negative terms, such as: “. . . how soon you’ll stop losing money . . .” or “. . . how soon you’ll stop wasting time . . .”
Then, after introducing the major decision, you immediately ask the second question. Now, in our examples above, it doesn’t really make a huge difference to you whether Tony invests automatically or makes deposits on his own.
And the same is true whether Mary wants her supplies delivered every month or according to some other schedule. But when they think about how they’ll invest and when they’ll receive your supplies, they’re also thinking about some of the options they’ll have after they own your product or service.
So, by asking the second question, that one sentence has twice as much power as a standard question.
