Now we will walk through our Aligned Sales framework. This is a framework that will give you a powerful structure for leading a call toward your prospect making the best decision for themselves. You’ll help them paint the full picture of where they are at and where they want to go, then leave the decision in their hands—do they want help solving this NOW, or are they ok waiting and delaying their goals? Because that’s ultimately what it comes down to.
This framework is designed to feel aligned, because you are essentially interviewing your prospect. You are not selling, you are being a guide along their Customer Journey. They are the hero here, and you are here to support them. From this standpoint, service is positioned as first in priority, and if the fit is right the details will fall into place.
A few major components in skyrocketing closing rates, making sales fun and easy are—making it no pressure, fun and friendly, curious and inquisitive. You don’t want to sell everyone, you only want to sell people that are a really good fit for what you do.
If you are the best at what you do, it’s not so much that you get the best results for everyone, but you get the best results for a very specific type of person. The clearer you are on this, the less these calls take a ‘sales’ frame, and the more they take on a natural frame. This is where pre-qualification becomes your best friend (see the lesson in this phase on Qualifying).
A Note on Framing
The spirit in which you approach a conversation can have drastic effects on it’s outcome. Put simply—how you frame a call/meeting internally never really fails to out-picture itself and show up in the substance of the call itself. So let’s take a quick look at framing.
For many business owners, when it comes to sales calls they tend to take the interviewee position, and the prospect becomes the interviewer. This dynamic is fine if the prospect is already sold, but if they don’t yet know enough to make a decision it can be highly ineffective, because it often perpetuates any pre-existing feelings unworthiness or confusion in the prospect.
When you are the interviewee, you are naturally in the position of anticipating the next move, being reactive, and being prone to defense. This is natural human behavior. So if the prospect is not yet sold on your solution, it puts you into a challenging position of trying to maintain composure and being the beacon of light that will be in the highest service to that person.
So, what do we do? We have to make a shift into being the interviewer. As an interviewer, you have stronger influence over direction of conversation, and you show up with humility, calmness and confidence. You are able to create a container or space of honesty and genuine connection. And you are able to be the leader they hope for and need (which is why they showed up to this call).
This is such an important topic, especially for us spiritual types. We tend to shy away from transactional money because in our heart we are here to serve. However, money is what fuels business. And if you’ve decided that your business is going to be the engine that fuels your desired lifestyle, you have to show up as a leader and be open to receiving. Because your business is always a reflection of you, so if you’re closed off to receiving abundance, then that is just what you are going to get.
Be the beacon of light and love your prospect needs and desires, show up and create a powerful container of support, and your conversion rates and growth will skyrocket. All while you are providing the greatest service to others.
Now let’s get to the Aligned Sales Framework. At the end you’ll receive a separate document you can print and use as a guide.
1. Opening & Introduction
Introduce yourself and give them clear expectation of the call:
“I’m [your name], and I’m really looking forward to getting to know and hear what’s happening for you. What I’d love to do is learn more about where you are at, more about where you see yourself, and some things that might need to happen for that gap to be closed, whether I help you or not.
So I’d like to just ask you some questions around what’s happening with you. You can ask me anything you’d like, and then we’ll see what makes sense.”
2. Present Problem & Pain
Invite the person to tell the truth about the present problem and present pain.
Note: Make sure to get people to get present in the pain, to be aware of what is already existing. The entire conversation is based on reflection. Make 2 columns on a piece of paper: pain and pleasure. Be measurable and specific in your conversation—avoid ambiguity. This needs to be real for the prospect. We are looking for breadth and depth of the problem. The most powerful reason people make swift decisions is to avoid pain. We are allowing the prospect to elaborate on the problem that already has occurred, to anchor them in the present pain, so that we have a springboard for moving into the discussion of their vision. If a prospect wants more information, pull the doctor card. “It’s unethical for me to prescribe a solution if I don’t have a clear picture of what’s actually going on”.
This first phase can take 10-12 minutes. The intention is to get a clear landscape of where all the issues are, so give it space to unfold. Everything must stay specific, relevant, and real time. Guide your prospect into details, by genuinely wanting to know more. We don’t care what happened ten years ago (I really appreciate you sharing that, how does that show up for you today?). We want present insight.
“What’s going on in your life/business right now?”
“Can you elaborate on that?”
“How else is that affecting you?” (*you’re making visceral connections to the cost of their problem)
“What have you missed out on?”
“What has this cost you?” (*time, money, peace of mind, etc)
3. Vision
Next, invite them to tell the truth about the vision:
“Okay, I hear where you are at. What would you like to experience instead?”
“What does it look like if you no longer have to deal with [their problem]?”
“What does that look like for you? What do you see? How much exactly? Can you describe that for me?” (*Get them to be specific and tapping into their senses. Ask them to describe the most intimate details of the vision.)
“Okay, let’s say that [$X] amount of money is coming, which is very doable, how else would that affect your life?”
4. Bridge The Gap
We’ve now created a gap between pain and vision, and so we want to make sure they see what’s on the line. This is not exaggeration or selling, it’s literally organizing the thoughts that came out of their mouth already, and presenting them back to them. It’s a service to this individual because they likely haven’t formulated their thoughts with such clarity and perspective before, so you are helping them have a moment of realization about their present life.
Note: Always assume responsibility for clarity. Do not elaborate language, use EXACT language and terminology. This is why it’s important to write notes as they are speaking, so you can then share those notes back to them.
“So in order for this to happen, here’s what we need to get rid of, here’s what we need to resolve, here’s what we need to eliminate… [read their full list of pains and problem back to them].”
“Is that right?”
“And you just don’t have clarity on what to do, is that right?” (*You’re inviting them to ask for help. This continues the container of service, rather than making it a sales call.)
5. Invite Honesty About Level of Commitment
The next step is to invite them to tell the truth on their level of commitment to changing the situation. This continues this as an honest conversation, again not selling the program, just guiding them into their own thoughts and reflections.
“So [their name], how much longer… are you willing… to allow yourself… to continue to stay where you are at?”
Here’s a breakdown of this question—every part of it is important!
“How much longer” implies that it’s been going on.
“Are you willing” implies they have the power of choice.
“To allow yourself” implies personal responsibility.
“To continue to stay where you (your family, your team) are at?” implies the impact this problem/pain has on the life and the lives around the prospect.
This question provokes sheer honesty. It doesn’t exaggerate anything, it doesn’t twist the facts; it puts total clarity and power into their hands. Because they problem haven’t thought about it this way, but it is absolutely 100% what is going on. By presenting this question, you are to serve, through illumination and awareness. Worst case the prospect will leave the conversation transformed. You have to ask this question.
Note: A lot of times they will say “I need to change it right now!” DO NOT MAKE THE OFFER AT THIS POINT. There are 4 classes of advice—unsolicited, unqualified, qualified, solicited. We never make an offer until it is solicited—this is the most service-forward and ethical approach.
“So [their name], how would you like to resolve this for yourself?”
Here are a few ways to handle the various potential answers:
“It depends on the money / the time / how long.”
“Out of curiosity, [their name], what are the deciding factors of [solving their pain / achieving their vision]?” or, “what is there in your schedule to getting out of this [specific pain] and getting into this [specific vision]?
“Well, I guess I need to [do it myself].”
“Awesome, is that something you would like help with or are you going to do it alone?” Or, “awesome, is that the first time you thought of that?” (*This invites them right back into present, acknowledging that they have gotten value out of this call)
6. Invite The Truth About Their Choice
The final step is to round out the call by inviting a recap and finality of decision regarding how they want to move forward (or not) with their vision.
The choice is not whether to buy or not; the choice is are they going to continue to stay stuck, OR are they going to take real steps toward adding extra income, getting the house, freeing up time, being the family man/woman they always wanted to be, living the lifestyle they always wanted, etc. Again, you are simply inviting conversation at a level of honesty no one else likely has offer them (which is a service them).
“Well [their name], I think you came to this call today for 1 of 2 reasons. If you came to this call to get some information and good ideas I hope this call has been valuable.” (*You are closing the door of continuing to talk about ideas and information)
“Now, if you came to this call for results, I may have something that helps. It might not help, but it might. Are you interested in hearing about it?”
Note: Why the ambiguity? You’re giving a truly genuine and honest answer—if you are good at what you do (and you should have identified that if you’ve follow our Alignment Engine process so far!), ultimately the results they get are about how they engage in your process. Commitment is a majority of the battle! And sometimes the prospect will ask about a guarantee, to which I answer this (because I know it’s true):
”This works 100% of the time, for 100% of the people, who apply it 100%.”
So, back to the script—after you ask them if they’d be interested in hearing about your offer, and if they say yes, follow this segue into the offer. Describe your program in as few words as possible:
“We have a [program/service] offering where we work with [identify prospect] in your exact position, to get the results you just described. How does that sound?” (*This invites a follow up, and it sets the tone for a “that sounds great” micro-commitment)
From there, allow the conversation to naturally unfold as you they begin to ask questions about your offer. Answer their questions as genuinely and concisely as possible. You don’t want to talk their ear off so that they become uncomfortable. Just give space for a natural and authentic Q&A.
As far as collecting the money, it’s best to not wait. The most ideal scenario is you have a payment link ready and you send it over while you are on the phone. This allows for you to be there when questions arise. You want to be there, in service, to help them through these issues.
If they need to wait, follow up with an email immediately after you get off the phone. Summarize the call, and give them clear next steps. If they tell you a date, put that date on your calendar and follow up then. This is showing that you listened to them, and are the leader they need to help guide them to their goals.
Now, if they hear your price and reply with an objection, here’s how you can handle it:
“Hey, that’s expensive.”
“You’re right, it is expensive, but compared to what?” (*Imply the cost of not fixing their problem, which, if it is a true problem, is a real and costly decision)
“I don’t know if I can afford that.”
“Okay, that’s no problem, so we won’t be working together, is there anything else I can help you with?” (*no pressure, no sales, just invite them to close out the call, which is a form of them committing to finalizing their decision)
Final Thoughts
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t make the sale. You are showing up in service, and you have made an impact. You are building trust, and as you plant your seed of trust your field will grow. And in the process, you will be learning more and more about your Aligned Customer (both who they are and who they aren’t), enabling you to further refine and optimize your offer.
That’s it! If you follow this framework, it works. It works because it prescribes the right solution to the right person at the right time, without being salesy. Why is it the right time? Because they have established that they do not have what they want, and that you do have what they can use to get what they want. That is all that we are doing here. Helping people who want what we have, get what they want.
This framework may seem like a lot, but as you practice you’ll find the conversation is natural. We can also help take over the sales portion of your business if this isn’t something you’d like to do (just ask us for more details).
Download and print a copy of this for reference:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l_1R6ry11E4hLPdOWaFnz-zKFAF_cIWW5QvOM93yz2o/edit?usp=sharing
link in the left hand menu.