In our last issue, I explained the MAD-FU formula for qualifying
prospects using 5 criteria:
M = Money ... Does the prospect have the money to afford what you
are selling?
A = Authority ... Is the prospect authorized to order and
purchase the product?
D = Desire ... Does the prospect have a fervent desire to possess
the product, a need the product can meet, or a problem the
product can solve?
F = Fit ... Is the prospect a good fit for the offer?
U = Urgency ... The sooner the prospect needs to buy the product,
the better your odds of closing the sale.
After reading my essay, subscriber AS emailed me a question,
asking HOW you can know whether your potential buyer does in
fact have enough money to afford you or your wares.
Well, the most common method is to ask the prospect, "What's
your budget?"
But there's a major problem with asking a potential client,
"What's your budget?"
Namely, saying "What's your budget?" instantly makes
prospects wary, suspicious, and uncomfortable.
Some find it a bit challenging (in a negative way),
confrontational or even a tad sleazy.
After all, you sell a service ... and should therefore know what
you charge ... without asking someone else, right?
Many prospects fear that when they give you a budget, you will
instantly quote a price that is at the top of what they say they
can afford.
They are under the impression that you are simply trying to
charge them the highest price, not necessarily the fairest price.
Instead, the first qualifying question you should ask about money
is not "what is your budget" but rather the far more
innocuous question:
"Do you HAVE a budget for this project?"
It works because it is not what they expect ... and not perceived
as sneaky or disingenuous.
The question is simple, straightforward, unanticipated, and
therefore disarming.
So, after you ask whether they have a budget -- what next?
Well, if the prospect says "yes," they do have a budget for
the project, you can then say:
"Would you mind sharing it with me?"
Some will not mind at all -- and will willingly tell you what
their budget is, without feeling you have somehow finagled it out
of them.
But what if the prospect says "No, I don't have a budget in
mind?"
In that case, say this:
"Well, do you at least have a dollar figure in mind for the
project -- an amount that you don't want the total cost to
exceed?"
Some will answer with that dollar figure, and voila -- you have
just qualified the prospect with regards to money in the MAD-FU
formula.
Now, this method does not always succeed. Some prospects will
say, "No, I want YOU to tell ME what it will cost!"
In that case, there is another qualifying technique you can use
to increase the odds that the prospect will find your quote
acceptable.
It's called the "good, better, best" or GBB Formula.
And in our next issue, I'll show you how it works.
When you master MAD-FU ... today's money-qualifying script ...
and GBB, which I'll reveal Thursday ...
You will be much more confident in quoting fees that prospects
will accept and not reject."
Until next time...
