A couple of weeks ago, my wife was sick as a dog.
She woke up saying that it felt like Metallica was inside her head playing Master of Puppets on max volume.
She was running a serious fever even though she couldn’t get warm. Despite wearing PJs and a dressing gown, and covered in two blankets with the AC cranking…
It sounded like she was tap dancing with her teeth.
Every time she swallow, she’d cry out in agony. Razor blades were dicing up her throat.
“I need to get to a doctor,” she said.
She called ahead and booked the first available appointment.
Later that morning, we finally made it into the Doctor’s office.
He sat my wife down and started asking clarifying questions:
“When did you start feeling like this?”
“Are you noticing any other symptoms?”
“Have you felt like this before?”
After getting a subjective appraisal, he checked her vitals.
Breathing. Blood Pressure. Heart Rate.
Assessment by assessment, he collected the data he needed to diagnose the problem.
Thankfully for me (my wife is the MVP at home), it was just a really bad case of the flu.
After telling us we had nothing to worry about, he wrote her a script… more for relief than anything else.
He explained what she needed to take when she needed to take it, and in what dosage. He outlined what to expect, how long she was likely to be out of action, and when she was going to start feeling better.
After leaving the Medical Centre and paying $70 for a 10-minute appointment, we went straight to the pharmacy.
We bought whatever the Doc ordered us to without second-guessing the bill.
At that point, my wife was in such a state she was willing to do anything for some relief.
The whole experience reminded me of something we do at AA, that goes against the grain of common practice…
It’s how we sell without ever needing to sell.
Here’s what I mean.
If you were in my wife’s situation, what’s the likelihood that at any point in time, you would have felt like you were being sold to?
Chances are, it would never even cross your mind.
Despite paying the Doc and paying the Pharmacist, you would have probably parted with your hard-earned without a second thought.
Why is that, do you think?
I like to think of it as ‘Prescriptive Selling.’
Think of it this way.
The moment my wife walked into the Doc’s office, she yielded to his authority.
He was the ‘expert.’
In a way, she was telling the Doc, “tell me what’s wrong, and tell me what to do about it.” Even though she didn’t use those words… it was implied.
She had given Doc free reign to do his thing and give her the answers.
Whether you realise this or not, your prospects invite you to do the same thing with them.
When they come to you with a problem, they’re inviting you to be the expert, telling them exactly what’s wrong, and what to do about it.
The only difference is you more than likely don’t think of it this way.
And unless you already do this, failing to prescribe is a sure-fire way of leaving money on the table.
And it’s so easy to fix, too.
All you have to do is act as a doctor would…
Listen first.
Diagnose second.
Prescribe third.
Then incite action.
As long as you don’t mess these steps up, the quality of your conversations will improve… guaranteed.
Try it, and let me know how you go.
– Karl Goodman
