Over the years throughout the many calls I have made, as an entrepreneur as well as in the corporate world of ad sales, I have whittled down the ideal framework for a sales/enrollment conversation that is connected, authentic, and non-salesy. I call it BeyondU, and each letter stands for a step in the framework.

The very first question that I ask is “what is your big dream?” At first, they could be reluctant to open up about their actual big dream because they aren’t even sure of themselves.

Instead of shying away from this moment when the call might feel awkward, this is an opportunity to pause and go deeper. Keep asking questions to the point that you hear their deeply rooted “why.” Sometimes this may even bring up tears for them, that is OK.

Here are some additional questions you should ask.

• What do you want to be celebrating at the start of next year?

• Why is this important to you?
• What is the reason why this is important?

In my world, I’m a business coach. The answer to these questions is often a version of financial freedom or traveling. Follow up with “what does financial freedom look like for you?” 

This works for my non-business coaches out there too. This question goes deeper into WHY. For some people, it is about helping family, independence, or creating a non-profit.

You will start to notice different themes in the underlying motivations of your audience.

It is so frustrating to feel like you are giving all of yourself towards a goal without getting the outcome you want. I’ve often heard entrepreneurs say that they’ve already invested so much in their business and they’re just not where they want to be.

There could be many reasons why their return isn’t meeting their effort level. It’s also possible that their effort level isn’t as high as they think that it is. I have a couple of questions that you can ask to determine their effort level.

• What effort have you put towards XYZ goal in the last 3 months?
• What have you tried so far?

Use active listening and pay attention to the words they use to answer these questions. Look for words that reveal if they’re a complainer or blame shifter, or someone who takes ownership of their journey but they haven’t had the right direction and leadership.

It’s important to determine where they are today. Not only have we all had our moments where our mindset wasn’t tuned in the way that it is now. It could also be that any program in the past wasn’t a good fit for them.

After you’ve determined their effort level, you need to better understand where their mindset is today. To help you conclude the likely success they will have in your program.

Some questions to ask that will help you determine where their mindset is currently at:

• What’s your biggest challenge or pain point?

• What’s holding you back from achieving your vision?
• What is your deep fear?

Take your time! These 2 parts of the call usually take a decent chunk of time because this is where you build connection, yet oftentimes I see people trying to rush through this part because it’s often vulnerable and intimate, so be mindful of that tendency and take your time!

Check out the next post for part 2 of enrollment conversations!