The prospect leans forward and says to you, “”So, what is it exactly that you do?”
You’re tempted to launch right into your spiel – all about yourself, your business, your clients, your successes… but wait!
If you’re not yet at the “U” stage in FOCUS, it’s not the right time to go into what you do.
Use the acronym FOCUS to set your agenda with prospects, which stands for:
Future – if they could wave a magic wand, what would your prospect love to see in their future?
Obstacles – there are two kinds of obstacles: First, known: what are some of the obstacles that your prospect knows are standing in their way? Second, unknown: here’s where your experience will allow you to uncover and bring to light hidden obstacles, unknown to your prospect.
Commitment – here’s where you test their commitment to taking action. Here’s a great question to test the water: “These are significant issues that you’ve had for a while, what is it about now that is prompting you to want to solve them?”
Unveil – reveal what it is that you do. Here’s where you outline your unique process.
Set the next action step.
And here is what I say when I run into that ole conversation-starter, “What do you do?” I say to the prospect:
“I’d love to tell you all about what we do. But before I take the time to go through how our proprietary process works, let me ask you a couple of questions…”
Now you’ve got your focus back on the prospect, where it belongs. Go ahead and pull out all the information about how your process can take them to their future. Be sure to practice active listening, take notes, ask leading questions to help them move through their future, obstacles and commitment.
Then – and only then – you can get to Unveiling your own company’s process. Followed by the vital wrap-up of Setting next action steps – so the conversation doesn’t stop.
The psychology of anticipation sweetening an experience dictates that you might want to wait until the prospect has asked you at least two times before you actually get into the Unveiling. Rather than foisting your mission on them, they’re eagerly requesting you to share it!
What do you think? How do you handle the “so, what do you do?” question from a prospect? Is it working for you? Leave your feedback here, or Tweet me @scottkeffer.