Leave It To The Future

Future pacing is a phenomenal strategy that reminds your prospect of all the reasons they made the decision to purchase or sign up with you, and transfers all of those reasons to the future, reminding them why, through triggers and signals that you will have installed.

I like to use this technique every time I sell. It's powerful in helping your client or prospect feel good about their decision no matter what outside influences say. This includes overriding any second thoughts they may have themselves.

With that said, I'm not going to get into the technique too deeply, but I'd like to tell you a story about how I used this when I was a young man selling health spa memberships.

One day, I had an eighteen year old guy come in to buy a membership. I didn't even have to sell him on it because he was ready to go.

Once the young man signed the contract, I did some future pacing with him just for good measure. I said, 'Imagine if someone were to tell you that this was a bad decision. What would cause you to stay with your decision to join up?'

And he said, 'I want this and no one's going to talk me out of it. I do what I want.'

I responded, 'Sure. Great. Suppose you began to doubt your decision. What would cause you to stick with it anyway?'

He replied, 'I know what I want. Nothing is going to make me doubt my decision.'

My phone rang later that day. It was the young man's mother. She said, 'You sold my son a gym membership today.'

I said, 'He came in and bought a membership, I didn't have to sell it to him.'

And she said, 'Okay, he bought a membership. I'd like you to cancel it and send me notice that it's been done.'

I said, 'I'm sorry, can't do that. He's over eighteen otherwise I couldn't have sold it to him. He needs to bring in the paperwork, as per the terms of the agreement that he signed, and we'll be happy to cancel it. He has seventy-two hours to do it.'

'Okay,' she said, 'We'll be in tomorrow.'

So in they come the next day together. His head was hanging low and he said, 'I need to cancel this, and I wanted to bring my mom in so she can see the club. Can I go work out today and show my mom through the club? And then I'll stop by on the way out and I'll cancel it?'

'Absolutely,' I said.

So he went and worked out. Well apparently they drove separate cars if I remember the correctly and the kid ducked out and left his mom there.

She approached me and said, 'We need to cancel this membership now.'

I said, 'Great. Give me the contract and I'll be happy to cancel it for you.'

She said, 'I don't have it. He has it.'

'I have to follow the terms of the agreement. And I'm more than happy to cancel this membership, but I'm going to need that contract. So he has 72 hours, like I said, to come back in and we'll take care of that for you.'

The next day the kid comes in, brings the agreement and says, 'I'm supposed to give this to you, but before I do, can I just work out?'

I said, 'Sure. Go ahead.'

For the second day in a row he worked out, and for the second day in a row, he left without seeing me.

On the third, and final day, the mother dragged him in and yelled at him, 'Turn it over to him right now.' He hesitatingly handed it to me.

She said, 'Cancel the contract.'

I asked the guy, 'Do you want this contract canceled?'

He said, 'No.' And he started arguing with his mother. He was ready to sever the relationship with his mother over this gym membership.

I realized at this point what had happened. This kid was unable to back out of the agreement because I had future paced his decision. I took the contract and canceled it immediately.

When you future pace something, you lock it into the mind of the person and I'm telling you right now that with the power of the strength of their own mind, you will have virtually locked them in.

About the Author

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of affluent clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

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