PAIN QUESTIONS

Without pain and a desire to change there is NO close, I have reviewed countless calls where
someone’s situation is “fairly good” and the agency owner/closer just accepts that and moves
from one question to the next, never really understanding what they actually need, what isn’t
working and ultimately this will lead to a directionless call where your pitch almost becomes
pointless as we haven’t clearly outlined what they even need in the first place.

We would start with the baseline understanding of what they even provide/do (current state
questions) 👇

Baseline/background questions (go as deep as you need to in order to understand their

business/what they’re offering)
What are you selling?
What’s your price point?
Ideal client?
So there is a lot of companies out there offering something similar - what exactly are you doing
with your marketing right now to help you stand out as unique, different, and superior, if
anything?
How are you currently generating leads right now?
How is the fulfillment handled in your business right now?
What is your current sales process like right now? A-Z?
Have you worked with someone in the past that provides YOUR SERVICE (lead generation,
SEO etc.)
^ Get a complete, crystal clear picture of what they’ve already tried before, what worked,
what didn’t, why they’re still jumping on calls despite not finding what they wanted from
previous companies etc. It’s important to really dive deep on this and find out exactly
what they need so we can prevent the “I’ve been burnt before” objection.
Do this even if they are currently working with someone too, ultimately they’re still on a fucking
call with you, so probably things aren’t perfect with the person they’re currently working with.
Understand this. Deeply.

Now these are just questions, the best thing you can do is make them flow, sales should always
be a natural conversation.

“Cool, and honestly the more open and honest about where you’re at, the more we’ll get out
from this.. So that being said, I guess the best place to start would be…….”

What’s your biggest challenge right now?

What’s not working in your business right now?
Where are you stuck right now?
Where do you need help specifically right now?
Biggest bottlenecks you’re currently facing
If you get the typical “Everything’s decent, just wanna see what you do” we need to reverse
engineer it. Sometimes people are directionless/lost on what you’re trying to understand, so we
need to reverse engineer it. Occasionally you’ll ask a question above and someone will tell you
a goal instead of a challenge, if we reverse engineer it we can bring it back to the challenge.
Often these people are the TOWARD filter type of person instead of the AWAY person, so then
we need to shift towards their way of thinking, which would be more around moving TOWARDS
their goals first and then reverse engineering.

Sure, that’s great… so what exactly are you trying to accomplish in business/life right now?
What do you actually need to get there ASAP?
What’s the biggest reason you’re not already there?
(Often here you might then get the pain, and then we have the answer to our questions from
before)
(if they say like “Oh it’s just a matter of time) - Well, how long do you think it will take to get you
there?
So what's keeping you from getting there faster?
What’s your goal, ultimately in the bigger picture?
Then we can use similar follow-up questions like above

Now let’s say they still are the type of person to not really give anything, then we would handle it
more like (this is like worst case scenario, in this scenario a lot of people can be kinda satisfied
but not perfect)

Let’s say you’re selling a lead gen service

How are you generating leads right now? (background question)
Great, so that is working well for you?
Awesome, so I mean, sounds like that’s going, fairly well, for you… Just curious, but what would
you change about that, if you could?
Is there anything else you would change?

We are looking for a CLEAR problem, and we need to isolate that. Sometimes people are
unaware of the problem they even have, and this is where it is super important to ensure we do
not move past this point until we have a clear isolated problem, often we actually know their own
problem more than they do, but we need them to say it otherwise it will have no weight/effect
behind it. Sales is extremely subconscious, notice how the questions are ended with “right now”
almost every time.. Why? Because we want to pre-frame that all of this conversation is leading
towards a resolution, that is important to have.

Time and time again I see people not really get the answers/clarity they’re looking for, and then
just move onto the next questions. Reword the questions, dig deeper, this person is on a call for
a reason, whether they’re in a bad position and want to go to a good one, or if they’re in a good
position and want to go to a great one, there is still pain, just different levels.
THEN WE WIDEN THE GAP (INCREASE THE PAIN)

Now this is more on a gut feeling, you’ll have some prospects who do not need much probing to
start spilling all the beans, and we just navigate the conversation. Others will need a lot more
prompting. And one of the best methods to widen the gap, and know deeply, is to work with
numbers, prospects will normally tell you a story on what’s not working, whereas if we’re the
expert we should be able to crunch down their leads per week, closes, conversion rate etc. and
then as they continue to speak they almost realize themselves that the numbers are bad. This is
niche-dependent, you need to be the person that knows what numbers are good/bad and open
their eyes to the process.

So to start, keep it simple:

Tell me more
What do you mean by____ ?
So the biggest challenge is ____ why do you say that?
Why is that important now though? What’s shifted recently?
Aside from ____ is there anything else you would change about your situation, if you could?
Do you feel like you have a process in which if you follow it, you get new clients coming in at
will? Or, do you feel like you have a process in which if you follow it, you know with certainty
you’ll be able to lose weight? These are designed to create doubt, we’re getting a no 99% of the
time
What’d you think has been keeping you from figuring this out on your own? Doubt again
People are often scared to ask questions like this because they may not answer in your favour.
Well, I probably could. Gotcha, yeah totally understand, so why aren’t you then
And you want to isolate doubt on the PAIN not on the goal. So a good way of wording it would
be something like “If lead gen is the biggest bottle neck in getting to 100k p/m, what’s being
stopping you from figuring that out on your own”
Instead of “What’s stopping you from hitting 100k on your own”

Then, if we have a more closed off prospect we can use more tactical questions
How is that impacting other areas of your business?
Hey……… Is it okay if I ask a little bit more of a personal question real quick.
Does that put you in a tough spot with ________ (other area of their life)
I.e well you said you’re working 80 hours a week, does that put you in a tough spot with
maintaining your fitness/health | tough spot with family time (we want the problem to extend
outside of their business too in order to create urgency)
Other than the obvious ones, in what ways does inconsistent lead flow impact the growth for the
company and your vision for it overall?

Ultimately, if you were able to generate 5 quality leads per day consistently and predictably,
what would that change for the business?
If you were able to cut the time in your fulfillment process by 100%, meaning we completely get
rid of it, what would that open you up to do in your business (great question for people handle
the appointment setting)

If you read through these questions 1 by 1, with no flow to the conversation and no
understanding why you’re even asking them, then they will prove completely fucking useless.
The point of this is to give you and understanding on how to tailor the conversation and direct it,
but no 1 person will be identical, and the biggest key of sales is to actually listen and
understand, these questions give you the leverage to hear them open up about the problems,
but if it just goes in one ear and out the other then it’s futile.

TRUST

In order to achieve XYZ result, my clients typically need around 10 hours a week. Is that
something you’d be able to commit to now?
What do you know about us? How did you find us?
Have you checked out the Facebook group/the website - what did you think
Have you seen our success stories? If no, show some
How long have you been following Iman

BUILDING UPON THE PAIN AND ADDRESSING PAST

You can skip most of this section if they have never tried something like this before, but often
people have and if we do not address why that didn’t work for them and the differences on what
we provide, they will have the “Been burnt before objection” and never close.

How long have you been trying to fix _______ (problem)

What have you tried before to fix this, if anything?
Aside from speaking with me, have you been out there looking for (similar products) that would
(solve problem)?
When it comes to getting help… what exactly do you feel like you need?
How do you know when you’ll have found something that’s a fit?
Anything else you’re looking for in a ____ (i.e a marketing agency)
Have you ever tried _____ before
What was your experience with what you tried?
What was the difference between what was PROMISED to you, and what actually happened?
If you could go back in time, what do you WISH you would have asked that salesperson before
hopping into the program/offer?
Here we get to physically understand what they tried and what was missing and address them/
What did you like about __previous program/company___, what do you feel like was missing?
MONEY
As mentioned, this is only really important if you have a gut feeling finances could be an issue
later in the call. It’s much better to address this before. Hitting these 7 checklist criteria is about
creating an objectionless close. Finances are a subject in which if you unnecessarily press into
them it will just create sales resistance, but if there’s an actual concern then we need to address
it not blindly ignore it. Here we should have the mindset though that it is more genuinely
concerned approach on ensuring they will be able to fix the problem, so much of sales is
subconscious and if we start the financial questions with the firm belief that “Oh this is guy is
broke, he won’t be able to afford it” that will bleed into your tonality and style of questioning
meaning it will just create sales resistance and an opportunity for them to back out from the sale
because they feel the pressure building.

I know there’s a stigma talking around cash, but is it cool if I ask a couple of financial questions
What’d you currently do for work?
How much money do you make from your business right now?
Is that gross or net?
Gotcha what is that after expenses?
How much do you leave in the business vs pay yourself?
And then after taxes that’s…?
Gotcha and do you use that just to support yourself or do you have a family as well?
(Dig into rather he/she has a spouse who supports the household income)
So based on what you pay yourself… how much is left over after your monthly expenses for you
to put away and save?
Can I ask you an honest question? Are you satisfied with that?
Yeah? In what way does that impact you?
Does that impact any other area’s of your life?
How long have you been making that amount of money? Well, Why not just stay where you are
though?
How much longer can you sustain this amount of (revenue//income))?
Can I ask you a personal question? And I really hate to ask this but… What’s your plan if say,
6mo goes by and nothing changes? And you’re still month to month?
(if “I definitely gotta change”) Well, why now though?
(if “I guess I’d be in the same spot) And whose decision is that, ultimately?
Are you willing to settle for that?

Then we address resourcefulness

Can I ask you an honest question? Are you willing to invest in yourself financially to fix (pain) so
that you can ultimately (what they want?)
If you look at the most successful people in the world - they have one thing in common: they’re
willing to invest in mentors so that they can get the support in building the SKILLS and mindset
to be able to achieve what they want. So when it comes to achieving (what they want) so if
you’re not willing to invest in yourself to get the skills and the pieces of the puzzle that you’re
missing - how WILL you get there?

If they get defensive

Look and the reason I’m asking you is to find the best route for you to achieve your goal. We
have some clients come in and based on their finances, go straight to paid advertising. Other
clients, we have them leverage organic so they can fund their own paid ads. It really just
depends, make sense?
Right and even if you can’t do this now - my goal for you worst case scenario is to create a
GAME PLAN for you to work towards in the future.

OPPORTUNITY COST
Now this will often play out slightly differently depending on if they’ve tried stuff before, or if it’s
something new for them.

If they’ve tried nothing:

Can I ask you a personal question? So… you’ve been wanting to start marketing/build online
presence etc. for about 3 years now and you’re finally reaching out to do something about it…
I’m curious, but why all the sudden is this important now, though? What shifted recently? Why
not stay where you are? What was the line in the sand moment
Is there any other reason that this is important and you don’t want to stay where you’re at?

If they’ve tried loads:

Wow, ok… Can I ask you a personal question? After all of that… after spending six figure over 2
years… trying 5-7 different programs/companies that didn’t work… I mean, I’m curious - what
has you keeping on, keepin on? What about getting this business to 7-figures is so important to
you?
Why now though?
How else would that impact you?
Is there any other reason that this is important?

THEN you can also label them, I’m so big on this for an example like this, saying “Gotcha, so
that tells me that despite dealing with companies that didn’t hit the mark for you, you’re still the
type of person that understands the importance of resolving XYZ and your business growth is
clearly a priority for you, I love that”

DESIRE
Now if we had the TOWARDS prospect in the beginning we may have dipped our toes in the
desire, but here is where we go back and actually fully cover the section
Ultimately what’s the goal?
What’s your target revenue
So when you think about a business that instead of a trickle of lead flow has 3-5 consistent
appointments every single day, week after week, once you get to that point what number would
you like to see your business pulling in NET each month? (Future pacing the outcome)
Getting to 100k, would that have an impact on you?
In what way, though?
You getting to ____ how do you see life being differently than it is now?
What would your wife think if you starting bringing up 30k/m instead of 5k/m?
I know this is a personal question… but how do you want them to think of you?
What type of legacy do you want to leave behind for your family?
How do you want the people you’ve impacted to think about you when you’re gone?
What are your non-monetary goals, your personal goals, that you want your business to allow
you to achieve?
The reason I ask that is because I don’t just want to help you build your business to XYZ and is
more profitable but also one that’s not making you miserable and questioning the passion for
running your business

Now sometimes people may not give a massive goal, some people try to be more realistic, so
here we want to stretch it, challenge it a bit

So if you got to ____, would you just stop there, or what’s next?
Ok then, well what’s the goal, ultimately?
Then go back into probing questions… (what would that mean for you, etc)
Being realistic aside, where would you really like to get this to?
Personally from my experience, you might be being a little reserved there, I actually had CASE
STUDY NAME that came to me in a similar situation as you, he also set a comparable smaller
goal but within XYZ timeframe he was able to get to ____, if it was possible for him, do you see
any reason it wouldn’t be for you also?

SPOUSE/BIZ PARTNER
Honestly this is fairly basic, you know in your gut when you should address this. And the goal
with all of these points is to create an objectionless close. We don’t wanna hear at the end of
the call after an hour that they need someone else to make the decision, it can often be a
smokescreen by that point too.

If you hear someone say “We” normally suggests there is a biz partner so hit it then.
For wife/partner often it will organically come up during vision, so then we hit it

Biz partner:
How does the leadership structure work in your company?
Who’s responsible for what
If there is main other biz partner, is it 50/50?
So earlier you said your biggest challenge is ___ who is responsible for that? (are we talking to
the right decision maker)
Does your partner know about us/this call?
Would NAME be working with us on this project too? Or just you?
^ Here it’s easy to reschedule with partner
Do they trust you in making decisions for XYZ

Spouse:
What does your partner think about ______ problem
Are they supportive of you fixing this problem
Are they involved in the business? What’s their role?
Do they know about us/this call? What would they think if they knew?
Let’s pretend for a second you move forward with something like this - would you need their
permission for that?