It’s also effective in getting past the “let me think about it” objection
One day I came across this huge opportunity to impact lives.
Literally stumbled on an ad offering about a million Naira to business owners. All you had to do was apply by submitting a proposal and a few other documents.
What did I do?
I literally called my entrepreneur friends and offered to have my company help them win. What’s interesting is not what I asked, it’s how I asked. And I’ll tell you how but first there was a huge problem…
The problem?
The offer was going to end in the next 29 hours. Just 29 hours!
Which means I needed them to make the buying decisions fast! There was no room for “let me think about it”.
What I asked was so profound and even more effective was how I crafted it. Its power lies in the fact that it’s predicated on human psychology. Hence, it is evergreen.
Techniques and strategies come and go. But human behavior remains the same.
What did I ask, and how?
“Hey, do you know anyone that would like to win a million Naira grant for their business?”
Here’s the psychology behind it. When you want to eliminate “let me think about” and get to yes faster, phrase your questions like this: Do you know anyone that would like to…
As opposed to asking directly like: Do you want to…
No matter what you’re selling, the result is the same.
What it does:
- It stops people in their tracks and gets them to really think about your question (disguised offer). As opposed to asking what every other person asks that already has a default answer of “No”.
2. Also makes them actually ask other people, refer, or recommend your product or services. This way you can reach 5 people as opposed to reaching just that one person.
Take it a step further
While writing this article, I reached out to 2 successful entrepreneurs I know and asked for their advice. I literally asked, “how would you go about getting a yes if the context is…”
Philip, of Wedding Clicks, said he will include instances of sales he’s made in the message he sends when going for the ask. And pictures where possible.
Immediately I heard that I literally went: “Holy shit! Why haven’t I been doing this?” Simply adding something like that would make it a lot more effective.
“There’s one element I’ll almost always include — FOMO*” said Justina of Triss Essentials. “Make it feel like it’s they’ll miss out on something really good if they don’t act”.
*FOMO is the anxiety that we might miss out on an exciting or interesting event or opportunity.
Pre-final thoughts
In general, direct questions almost always yield less-quality results than can be achievable. Open-ended questions. Indirect questions. Multiple choice questions. Anything other than a direct question would get more responses.
My friend Jessica does this really well. One time she asked me what my zodiac sign is. Then proceeded to say something like Oh really? what date is that?
Very clever. Way more interesting and less intrusive than asking “What is your birthday?”
Another example is asking “Are you a dog person or a cat person?” as opposed to asking “do you like pets?”
Final thoughts
- Be witty
Questions can be a burden. But be witty, and you’ll get a higher response rate.
2. Think community
John D. Rockefeller said it best:
“How did I become a Millionaire?
By making other people billionaires.”
Thanks for your time,
G.
