A sales rep was trying to get a meeting with a CEO of a company. When he called for an appointment, the administrator said that the CEO was not taking any appointments unless the meeting directly pertained to the company’s IPO that was scheduled in two months.
Instead of moving on to another opportunity, this sales rep called his stock broker and asked for an analysis of this pending IPO. The broker supplied him with information that said that the offering was sure to rise dramatically in the first few days of trading; however, the company had not yet demonstrated the ability to penetrate other market segments. As a result, it was expected that the stock price would fall by the end of the year if this issue went unresolved.
The next day this sales rep waited in the company’s lobby at about the time the rep thought that the CEO might walk past to go to lunch. Sure enough, the CEO walked through the lobby. The sales rep said, “Hello”, and asked for a meeting. The CEO kept walking and instructed the rep to call his administrator to make an appointment. Already knowing where this would end up, the rep blurted out, “OK, but I was wondering…what will the impact on your stock price be if you don’t penetrate some other market segments?”
The CEO stopped in his tracks, looked at the sales rep, and said, “Is that something you can help us with?”
The sales rep nodded, and asked if they could talk more. The CEO agreed, and immediately sat down in the lobby for a 25-minute meeting.
That’s the power of an anxiety question!
Motivation to act
Many selling situations exist where anxiety can be a powerful tool. In general terms, it can be applied anytime a prospect will not engage with you, whether it’s during your prospecting attempts, trying to get a return phone call, or, most importantly, closing the opportunity.
The idea is to get the prospect to consider the impact on them if they don’t take action. In the two seconds it takes a prospect to consider your anxiety question, they make a journey that brings them to a place where they can recognise their own personal motivation for taking action.
Reasons to Stall
For instance, let’s say you are trying to close a deal this month in order to make your quota. You have a prospect who has gone through all of the motions with you. He or she has confirmed that you offer the best solution, agreed that you can impact their business and their personal agenda, had buy-in from the right people in their organisation, and seen all the proof they need to make an informed decision. Yet they find a reason to stall:
- ‘The holidays are distracting.’
- ‘It makes more sense to spend next year’s budget.’
- ‘I’m going out of town.’
This is the time to use an anxiety question.
Personal Interest
A compelling anxiety question is created using what you know the prospect cares about personally. Here are some examples:
- What’s the cost of not taking action now?
- What happens if you don’t start reducing costs this year?
- What’s the impact on you if the cost management initiative is delayed?
- Are you confident that you will be able to support management’s 35% annual growth plan without impacting costs?
- Do you feel there is any connection between your current capabilities and your lower profits?
Nagging concern
Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. If someone asks you one of these questions, what thoughts run through your mind? Maybe part of their compensation plan is tied to this initiative or they have a presentation to make on this subject at the next executive staff meeting or they realise how much effort they’ve put into the initiative so far and don’t want to lose it now. Ideally, they review all of the potential impacts in that two-second time period. Inevitably, some nagging concern will rise to the surface and cause them to reconsider the delay.
Ace in your pocket
Remember that an anxiety question is intended to rattle a person and prod them into action. Be careful not to over-use this tactic…consider it an ace in the pocket. It’s something to use when you need it, but not in every interaction.
