Money passes at the point of tension. It passes more reluctantly, or not at all, at the point of pressure.
Many sales you've missed have been because this principle wasn't applied correctly. And you've made sales because you've used it well -- even though you might not be aware of it.
In my personal practice and in the hundreds of cases of joint field work I've done with agents, the sale almost always hinged on whether the prospect felt tension or pressure. If you understand this principle and apply it, you will see a marked improvement in your closing percentage; not just in sales interviews, but in turning suspects into prospects, and turning social situations into sales interviews.
Let's start with social situations. You have countless conversations with strangers, friends, people you meet at parties or business gatherings, even people you meet playing golf. Let's face it: If you're golfing with someone you've never met, you can't get past the fourth hole without someone asking you: "What do you do for a living?" How you answer that question, or more specifically, what you don't say, can increase your income substantially. I'll show you why in a minute.
But first, let's develop the point on tension versus pressure.
Tension comes from within. It drives us to fill a need, satisfy a wish, or pursue an objective or goal. It's a good thing. Webster defines tension as an "inner striving." Pressure, on the other hand, comes from outside. It's often applied by someone else. The dictionary defines it as "the application of force to something else." In a sales situation, when a prospect feels pressure, his or her defenses go up and the prospect withdraws from the conversation. Any meaningful dialogue ends at that point. If you are successful at closing a sale in that situation, it's probably the result of a protracted verbal tug-of-war with the prospect as you overcome a several objections. More than likely, you'll watch the sale disappear in the free-look period. And you will probably wonder why it happened!
It happened because the prospect didn't feel he or she satisfied a goal or filled a need. The prospect felt he or she was pressured into making a premature decision. And that money we talked about passed to you reluctantly. Buyer's remorse will set in the moment you leave.
What we need to do instead is tap into, or ramp up, the "tension." We need to zero in on the need that begs to be filled, or the desire or wish that's driving the prospect. When we do, the tension from within will drive the prospect to seek a solution. If you can offer a product that meets that need, fills that wish, or satisfies an objective, the prospect will buy. You don't need to sell. You need to ramp up the tension that represents the gap between where the prospect is and where he or she wants to go, and the prospect will look for a solution. He or she will take it from you. Do you see the difference? So how do we do that?
The short answer is we do it with questions. The psychology behind it is this: No one wants to be sold anything. People will do whatever they can to avoid a "sales encounter." Yet almost everyone loves to buy. When we ask people questions, they tell us why they want something and eventually, what stands in their way of getting it. That gap between what they want and what they have right now creates tension. You didn't create it -- they did.
If you grasp the concept, you can easily execute it with your own words. When I teach sales, I advocate selling the concept and letting the funding follow. If prospects buy the concept and embraces it, whether it's the need to create a buy-sell agreement or put more money away for retirement, they will seek out a solution. You don't need to sell them. They bought the concept. Tension, created from within, will drive them to find a funding vehicle. Life insurance, or other products you have to offer, will fund the concept. From here on out, you're just facilitating the purchase. You're helping the prospects make an intelligent buying decision.
The golf course sale
Here are two examples. One is how to handle the golf course question we alluded to earlier, which also works in social situations and business gatherings, when the inevitable question comes up -- "What do you do for a living?" Remember, it's not the words so much as it is the concept.
"What do you do, Frank?"
"I have an insurance practice here in Tampa. How about you, Jim?" Never expound on your answer to the first question! Move immediately to asking what he does for a living. Anything else starts moving things in the direction of pressure.
"I own a construction firm here in town. We mostly do remodeling." Let him tell you whatever he wants about his line of work, then immediately follow with this question:
"That sounds interesting. How'd you get involved in the construction business?" Let him speak as long as he wishes. Make short comments like "that's interesting," or ask questions, but let him tell you about his business. We're looking for two openings and both lead to the same question:
"Who here in town handles your life insurance, Jim?" The first opening would be if you've worked with anyone else in town he might know or that's in the same line of work. If so, mention it. It gives you credibility in terms of working on insurance solutions with firms like his. The other is when he asks this qualifying question about your business:
"What type of insurance do you handle, Frank?"
"I handle life and health, Jim. (Or whatever it is in your case). My clients range from individuals to businesses." Now ask the magic question:."By the way, Jim, who here in town handles your insurance?"
As innocuous as that question sounds, it's very powerful for two reasons: (1) It presupposes that someone should be handling his insurance; and (2) If he doesn't have someone, he should get someone. That's tension at work, not pressure. Time doesn't permit me to go into more detail as to how to handle that situation, but nevertheless, ask the question. If he has no one, ask for a meeting to discuss the advantages of having someone like you take responsibility for insurance-related situations that arise -- both for him and his business, and his employees.
On the other hand, if he tells you he has someone, that's fine, too. Let it go and exchange business cards at the end of the round. Follow up during the week with a personal letter and a one-page fact sheet that outlines what you do for your clients. Make the fact sheet read like a financial buffet -- lots of items to choose from. He may see something that motivates him to call. I wrote a nice case with a six doctor practice by doing just that.
Ask questions
Another example involves a business owner I know who recently said to me: "I think I need more life insurance, Frank." How tempting it was at that point to close for the appointment or spew forth everything I knew about life insurance. But I resisted because it would have injected pressure into the situation. What I did instead was ask this question: "Why do you say that, Rob?" After he told me he was concerned his wife might not have enough money to live on, I asked him what things might be like for Julie if he died today. The picture he painted clearly did not have his wife living in the same world she's been used to. You could feel the tension building within him as he visualized the gap between the insurance he now has and what assets his wife would need to comfortably get by. The tension, not me, was causing him to seek a solution. There was no pressure being exerted on my part. By asking him what the situation would be like if he died today, what was I doing? Applying pressure or "ramping up the tension."
I still didn't offer a solution or set an appointment. I asked him how much additional life insurance he felt he needed. I asked him how Julie might spend it if he were gone. He went through a few things like pay off the mortgage, some credit card debt, get a newer car, and a few other things. That left about $400,000. I multiplied that by 4% and suggested that amount of liquid assets would throw off about $16,000 of annual income. His face went pale. "Maybe I need more," he said. I could sense the tension inside him building. I replied, "When do you want to get together and talk about this, Rob?" We wrote the insurance last week. No pressure was ever applied. The money (premiums) passed enthusiastically because it solved a problem and filled a need.
If you take nothing more from this article, re-read the last paragraph and note that I didn't make a single declarative statement in my entire exchange with Rob. I only asked questions. When prospects talk about goals, obstacles always surface. Let them talk. You'll quickly discover any gaps that exist between what they have and what they want. That gap often creates tension as the desire to close the gap intensifies. Very skillful salespeople know how to "intensify the goal" and "illuminate the obstacles." Questions do this better than anything else. "Why is this important to you, Rob?" elicits a response that intensifies the goal. Asking about the size of the problem and the consequence it might levy, illuminates the obstacle. It's like shining a great big spotlight on it. Your solution eliminates the obstacle. And it does so without pressure.
Handle sales interviews the same way. Ask questions: "Why do you feel you need long-term care insurance, Mrs. Smith?" "What would your situation be like today, without it?" "How much do you feel you need?" "Why that amount?" Questions like this create tension within your prospects that will motivate them to seek a solution. Starting your meeting off by telling them one in two people will end up in a nursing home or that the average cost for a long-term care stay is $250 a day starts moving things in the direction of pressure. Sure, those are good things to know -- just not now.
Remember, money passes at the point of tension. It passes more reluctantly (or not at all) at the point of pressure. Apply this principal in your financial services practice by asking more questions, and see your results grow quickly.
Frank McCarthy, CLU, RHU, REBC, is president of Mid Level Marketing, LLC in Tampa, Fla. You can contact him at frank@midlevelmarketing.com.
