Why didn’t you pick a lower number?
I have a trick.
I didn’t make it up. It first appeared in a book called Instant Influence by Dr. Michael V Pantalon, a psychology research scientist at Yale. I learned about it from Daniel Pink, in his book To Sell is Human.
The trick involves framing a question or proposal in a way that increases the likelihood you’ll get a “Yes.” Dr. Pantalon calls it motivational interviewing. I’ve used it successfully, and here’s how it works.
Let’s say you’re selling something. You’ve followed your sales process and finished your pitch. You go down the normal line of questioning as you work toward closing the deal, for example:
What do you think?
What do you like about this product? What gives you pause?
Does this seem like the kind of solution you need?
What haven’t I covered yet that is important to you?
You can ask those. But also, try asking this.
“How ready are you to sign an agreement and partner with us, on a scale of 1-10, where 1 means not ready at all and 10 means you want to move forward right now?"
If they say anything other than 1, you follow up with this:
“Why didn’t you pick a lower number?”
The decision maker has to explain why they aren’t a 1. Any answer they give to this question forces them to think about good reasons to move forward, which dramatically increases the likelihood of getting to Yes. When people come up with their own reasons for doing something, the reasons crystalize. They’re stronger.
BTW this isn’t just a sales trick. It works on kids too.
How ready are you to turn off the iPad and take a bath, on a scale of 1-10, where 1 means you’re not turning off the iPad until the battery dies and 10 means you’re ready to take a bath right now?
… why didn’t you pick a lower number?
