How To Get Inside Your Prospect’s Mind
People don’t buy your product or service… they buy the benefits of your product or service. Sounds pretty straight forward… right?
People buy because they are interested in two things. These two things are the same two things both you and I are interested in.
- Getting rid of a PROBLEM you/they have and don’t want and / or
- Creating a RESULT that you/they want and don’t have.
People pay for products and services for one or both of these reasons. It is not about the product or service itself, but what it can do for them.
It’s about transformation. Your prospect wants something that will take them from where they ARE to where they want to BE.
Therefore, whenever you write a blog post or an email, record a Facebook Live, or talk to somebody in person, your ability to get them to say “yes” depends on how well you can communicate to them the transformation they will experience working with you.
The process is the same whether you are selling houses, yoga, insurance, or widgets.
To articulate that transformation, you need to understand their before and after states.
Before = Unhappy
Your prospect is unhappy for a particular reason. Maybe they’re…
- Overweight
- Stuck in a dead end job they hate
- In a bad relationship
- Struggling with their finances
- etc.
Working with you can resolve this pain and “transform” them to an “after” state.
After = Happy
“Happy” is where your prospect wants to be. They want their discomfort, pain, fear, or problem to resolve, improve, or just go away. They want to…
- Look and feel better
- Love getting up and going to their job every day
- Feel financially secure
- Find the love of their life
- etc.
The only way you’ll ever be able to communicate with your prospects effectively is to get very clear about their specific “before” and “after” states.
The success of every ad you write, every blog you post, every email you send, and every in-person conversation you have depends on it. It takes some work. You’ll want to take some time to research (lots of it) and write down what you discover.
Let’s get started.
Define Your Prospect’s “Before” State
Ask yourself…
- What pain are they experiencing
- What challenges are they facing
- What problems do they have
Dive deep here. The pain, problems, or challenges are often not what you see on the surface. It’s not just, “I want to lose 10 pounds”. Why is losing that 10 pounds important?
- Is it to improve their health
- Look better for their spouse or partner
- Do they have an important event coming up
- Feel more vibrant and energetic so that they can play with their grandkids
It’s not just, “I want to make more money”. Why is making more money important? What problems would making more money solve?
- Are they suddenly a single parent
- Are they saving for their children’s education
- Are they wanting to renovate their home
- Travel more while they still can
You must dig deep so you can understand the psychology of your ideal customer. Every answer should be followed by another question until you truly understand the root of their issue.
Define Your Prospect’s “After” State
What would their life look like if their pain, problem, or challenge was resolved?
- They are able to meet their financial commitments
- They are able to sleep soundly through the entire night
- They get the promotion they wanted
- Their relationships are better
By adding a “so that” to the end, you are completing the circle and linking your solution back to their before state.
Remember, you’re not selling a product or a service. It is not about the pill, the process, the software, the counselling sessions or the investment portfolio.
Your prospects are not interested in purchasing those things. They are interested in what those things will do for them. They are interested in going from where they are now to where they want to be.
The transformation.
And you need to be crystal clear about the “Before”, the “After”, and the transformation that you can provide them. Once you gain this clarity you’ll be in a much better position to get inside your prospect’s mind and give them what they truly want.
What you can deliver.
So what problem do you help solve and what results do you help create for your customers? Below is a resource that can help you put that all together.
[grwebform url=”https://app.getresponse.com/view_webform_v2.js?u=hYoXk&webforms_id=49022604″ css=”on” center=”off” center_margin=”200″/]
