I’m not a guy who fishes, but I do love a good metaphor. So let’s consider, why fishers (or is it fishermen…fisherwomen? Or maybe fisherpeople?) I digress…let’s just go with…oh, anglers!
Let’s consider seriously for a second – why do anglers bait their hooks?
Would a fish want to bite if it didn’t see a reason why?
At least not a smart fish. ;-P
In order to take action, the fish must see value in front of it.
No bait = no fishy action.
Without good bait on the line, the angler sits there hour after hour, day after day, throwing the line into the water hoping today will be a good day. But instead, leaves, day after day, frustrated and defeated.
Each day the uncertainty grows, the hunger and despair grows – wondering if this fishing game even works. Wondering if maybe they are the problem, or they just not meant for this.
But they love it, and it’s what feeds the family…or…is supposed to. So they keep going back out to do what they love, hoping this new day will be the day they reel in a big one.
Hoping this day won’t end in feeling overwhelmed – like they’re failing their family, and themselves.
But the cycle of inconsistency and poor catches continues.
Could this accurately describe your business – your experience with sales?
If you’re getting a lot of responses with your conversations like:
- “I’m not looking for coaching at this time”
- “I’m too busy”
- “I’m already in other programs”
- Or my favorite – “I have to think about it”…
It’s because you’re missing the bait.
But it’s not you.
It’s not the business.
It’s not the “game” that doesn’t work.
It’s using the wrong tools – the cheap and crappy bait – that causes those inconsistent and empty-handed days.
So what’s the bait, the BEST bait?
VALUE
If there hasn’t been enough value established, there’s no reason for a prospect to move forward.
No valuable bait = no fishy action.
VALUE needs to be established to enroll a prospect into the next step you want them to take. Without value, you’re not “opening” the sale enough.
Enrollment ISN’T just about sales.
Enrollment happens THROUGHOUT your ENTIRE business.
Whether that means moving prospects from a casual networking chat into an enrollment conversation, or from listening to a podcast to applying for your program – a sale can never be closed that hasn’t yet been opened. Value is the ONLY thing that opens a sale.
My biggest insights with “opening the sale” AND enrollment is to PLAY WITH RESISTANCE and have a kid-like curiosity about what DRIVES a person.
Humans are motivated by either pain or pleasure. Moving away from pain, or moving towards pleasure. Learning how to pinpoint this in order to establish value is how you’ll always know what bait will hook the small catches…versus what bait reels in the big ones. Consistently.
There’s a 3 part approach that’s the foundation for ALL enrollment:
-
BE GENUINELY INTERESTED AND CURIOUS ABOUT THEM
- About their goals, challenges, aspirations, etc.
-
ASK REALLY REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS
- What are you most excited to create these days?
- What’s exciting about that to you?
- What’s your biggest challenge in creating that?
-
ROBE
This is the KEY. THIS step is where the gold comes from.
I dive deep into the process of probing in my programs and there’s no way I can go into it all the details properly on this post. I mean, I’m not writing a book here LOL. But what I can say to support you right now is that the best probing questions come from being GENUINELY curious about what their situation/aspirations are.
The deeper you probe, the more value is established, and the bigger the bait gets.
Bigger bait = Bigger fish
Better bait = More secure bite
Your ability to guide your enrollment conversations with value – painting the picture for a prospect so they can see the gap of where they are and where they want to go with YOU being the bridge to that gap – is directly proportionate to your sales conversions.
Establishing value like this on every enrollment call is how you’ll start filling your bank account with the massive chunks of cash you deserve.
It’s how you’ll end the days of frustration and uncertainty, and finally step into inspired confidence, clarity and pride.
Play bigger.
Bait better.
Your dreams are waiting.
Related: Radically Upgrade Your Sales By Starting With The End In Mind
