By Dana Phillips.
As a leader, have you ever felt exasperated because your team member keeps talking about the same potential recruit who never signs up? They hold that magnifying glass focused on one person. You know they are missing many other possible people, but you can’t get them to shift their focus?
Anna, one of my coaching clients, kept coming to every call, talking about how the hostess from her show last November would sign up any day. They talk all the time; there always happens to be one more reason why she won’t sign up. It was way past time for Anna to get a yes or no from her hostess. She was not going to move on unless she did.
So I asked Anna, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is she to get started?” Anna couldn’t answer. I challenged her to ask her hostess the very same question. Her hostess’ answer was a 4. She wasn’t interested. Anna was disappointed but could also release her expectations and move on. This straightforward closing strategy helped Anna to ask for a yes or no. Anna wanted this so much that she saw it as an implied yes but never asked.
A few important things to know about the 1 to 10 close: if the answer is 9 or 10, it’s time to get them started; if the answer is 1 to 4, it’s time to bless and release. If the answer is 5 to 8, it’s time to ask more questions. They have some interest but aren’t ready to move forward either because they don’t have enough information or there is an objection they have not resolved. This is an excellent close for a newer recruiter who is not yet observing all the cues. It uncovers their level of interest and moves them closer to a yes or no.
As a leader, you can also help your consultants move forward by using the same strategy. If Sue has a customer she is “working on” signing up, ask Sue to evaluate the likelihood that her customer will sign on a scale of 1-10. Help her to change that magnifying glass into a wide-angle lens.
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