By now we want to have built ERBN (Emotional Reason to Buy Now) and LRBN (Logical Reason to Buy Now).

Now we are creating conviction and test closing – with a presentation.  We want to get this person to the point where they absolutely feel justified in buying – then test close.  Do a trial attempt to ask for the sale, knowing it generally will not work.  This is to get them to think about their reasons to not buy and surface their objections.

3 ways to build conviction (most people give facts.  People buy benefits, not facts):

  1. You must be absolutely congruent that you are 100% sure that what you are offering is 10x greater than what you ask for.   Most important.  You cannot give someone the emotion that you don’t have
    • Stay away from the Law of Familiarity:  if you are around pretty much anything long enough you will start to take it for granted.
    • Do intense incantations on the way to the meetings to get in state.
    • When 2 people meet, the person who is the most congruent and most convicted will eventually win out.  As long as you give them conviction for THEIR reasons.

Build Units of Conviction:  Everybody has fears (DRAB).  Fears of pain.  Must build way more ERBN and LRBNs.  Use the carrot and the stick.  Emotions are the dominant buying mode, but they want to believe it’s for logical reasons.  Similar to units of interest.

  1. 7 Parts: 1- claim, 2-fact to back up claim, 3-benefit, 4-Secondary benefit that effects them personally and hopefully emotionally, 5-Some evidence to back up, 6-get permission to ask questions, 7-start asking questions that gets them to answer with reasons they should buy.  The best evidence is the ones your customer gives to you.
    • Tony was selling a 6 tape set for $300.  So created a UOC for each tape.
  2. For each #7 you do a test close.  An opinion asking question.  Just add “in your opinion, do you feel….” to anything.  “in your opinion, do you feel that it would be worth……”  Questions that don’t ask “do you want to do this?”  or “Do you feel, that you would get <this benefit>”
    • How to close is less important than When to close.
    • You get them to actually build up the value of your product.  Get them to quantify the value of what you are doing.
    • When you have then prepared in advance, you can concentrate on how you are talking not what you are saying.  “Yes I feel this feature you mentioned will benefit me.”

<exercise: Write a dozen units of conviction>

Test Close:  Use an opinion – not decision- asking questions.  Keeps their guard down.

  1. “in your opinion, do you feel like…..”  brown or blue, Friday or Saturday, 3 payment or 1 payment, travel or business…..
  2. Opening Test Close:  Start out up-front and find out where the buyer is.  Is there something that is going to stop you – no matter what (previous obligation, spouse, etc)?  Can get ERBN and LRBN.    If have one, must twist the hurt.

<Sit down and write some>

  1. Trade Off Test Close:  you know they are going to have an objection at some point.  Contrast the reason for not buying with a benefit they really, really want.   “Ok, here is the reason that you don’t want to buy and here are all the reasons to you that you do – and they are way, way better.”
    • “Would it be worth _____ to achieve/get _______(that they know is way better).”
    • You want the NO’s out early.  “No it’s not worth it” is easier than “no I don’t want to buy.”
      • I completely understand and I know that you have good reasons for saying that.  Do you mind if I ask what they are?
    • Gets them to tell you their beliefs – so you can align with them.
    • “In order to achieve your goals of ___, would it be worth the 1 time investment of ___ .”
  2. Progressive Test Close:  gets them thinking about progressing down the path of buying.  “If you were going to go ahead with this…”.   Gets them making progress, or getting them unstuck.
    • Whatever someone focuses on, that’s what they feel.
      • “What’s the best thing in your life right now”  “What is most screwed up in your life right now?”
    • Takes the focus off “whether or not should do” and focus on “what it’s like if you did.”  Focused on buying instead of their worry.  Especially if they have some emotion behind.
    • “if we were able to handle ___ challenge, then you would probably want to go ahead then – wouldn’t you?”
  3. If you aren’t getting progress, then have to add more hurt, or add more units of conviction.
    • Never be afraid of knowing where a customer is!  Be afraid of not knowing.
    • Use DEFEATS.  Demonstrate , Testimonials, Example, Facts, Analogy (how its like something else)

When they answer these, hammer it home with confirmation follow-ups.  “Really?  You’re not just saying this because you are being nice?  I mean, I’m not off my game and not seeing something here?  I’m not trying to force you to say that to be nice”   So, they agree with themselves 4x.

  1. Plays into consistency.

<exercise: write 3 test closes for each type of test close>