NEPQ Role Play

Question 1

Prospect: “I get all my work from referrals. It’s great because it’s generally a family member or friend that’s recommended me to them, so closing the deal is generally easy enough.”

Answer 1

Me: “It sounds like things are going fairly well for you… is there anything you would change about how you get new customers, if you could?”

Question 2

Prospect: “Sure, how can I help you?”

Answer 2

Me: “Well, I’m not actually sure that you could yet… I was just wondering if you would be open to looking at any possible issues with how you’re getting new customers, that might be causing you frustrating chasing time wasters and heavy price shoppers?”

Question 3

Prospect: “Who’s this? What’s this all about?”

Answer 3

“Oh, I apologise, I didn’t mean to offend you, what we do is, you know how a lot of contractors nowadays are totally reliant on referrals for business and find it difficult to advertise with the increasing cost of ads and all the changes going on in the online advertising space? Well we help contractors like that bring in much higher quality leads at a lower ad cost so they can get back all the time they spend chasing unqualified leads, and have a system that makes their income more predictable and controllable.”

(Pause)

“Does that resonate with you or is it something you could be experiencing?”

Question 4

“No, we actually do advertise as well and get a fair bit of work from it.”

Goes on to describe why it’s been going well

Answer 4

“Oh, well it sounds like things are going fairly well for you… is there anything you would change about your system if you could?”

Question 5

Prospect seems interested after personalized opener

Answer 5

“Now I guess I should probably ask… how DO you currently get new customers, just to see if I could actually help you?”

Question 6

Prospect seems interested in connection phase

How to transition to situation awareness phase?

Answer 6

“Before I go through who we are, what we do and all that kind of boring stuff, it might be a good idea if we knew a little bit more about your business and what you do to get new customers… just to see whether we could actually help you. If you don’t mind me asking, how do you currently get new customers?”

Question 7

“What are you selling?!”

Or some other abrasive/aggressive variation

Answer 7

“Oh, I apologise if I’ve offended you. I’m not actually convinced that I could even help you yet. And it might be a good idea if we asked each other a few questions to see whether what we do could even help you. Would you be opposed to that?”

Question 8

“We already have an agency.”

Answer 8

“Yeah, that’s pretty normal, and to be frank, I’m not sure we can even help you yet. I would have to know a little bit more about the quantity and quality of the leads you’re getting to see whether we CAN even help you. And if we can’t, we can just end the call, or I might be able to suggest someone to you who could better help you in that area. Would you be opposed to that?”

Question 9

“I’ve been running myself into the ground lately. Trying to focus on getting jobs completed on time and at the same time having to chase down people who said they wanted work done. It’s been really stressful.”

Answer 9

A probing or clarifying question to go deeper into the stress here Examples:

• “Has that had an impact on you?” (Concerned Tone)

Question 10

Prospect goes deeper into their emotional situation due to the probing questions you have asked.

Answer 10

“Let’s suppose your needs could be met… what are you hoping to accomplish?”

“If you were able to solve this… what would it mean for you?”

Question 11

“Yea I like what I’m currently doing to get new customers”

Answer 11

“What do you like about it?”

Question 12

“No, I don’t like what I’m currently doing to get new customers”

Answer 12

“What don’t you like about it?”

Question 13

Problem awareness stage. Prospect expresses that they don’t like something about their customer acquisition strategy.

Answer 13

1. How long has this been going on?
2. What barriers are in your way from overcoming this?
3. How much do you think this is costing you?
4. How much does this cost you in lost time?
5. Has this had an impact on you?

Question 14

Prospect expresses difficult situation with current customer acquisition strategy. There’s some emotion there but it’s under the surface.

Answer 14

“I sense you must be stressed about this… Has that had an impact on you?”

Question 15

Prospect expresses emotional adjectives to describe their situation.

Answer 15

“When you say [adjective/emotional phrase]… what do you mean exactly?”

Question 16

Prospect expresses that they’ve tried a bunch of different things in the past and nothing has worked or it hasn’t worked as well as they hoped.

Answer 16

“When you first went out looking for different strategies in the past, what exactly were you looking for in those solutions?”

Question 17

Me: “What have you done about this, if anything?”

Prospect: “Honestly, not a lot. I’m just too busy to find the time to sit down and really get this sorted out.”

Answer 17

“I sense you must be stressed about this. Let’s suppose you could solve this problem and get something in place that’s much more in the direction of your ideal situation… What would that look like for you?”

Question 18

You’ve gathered a lot of information about the prospect’s situation. They’ve expressed their issues, both tangibly and emotionally, and have opened up under the surface. What now?

Answer 18

“[name], I hope you don’t mind me asking this, because I’ve enjoyed our conversation so far. But… what are you going to do if nothing changes?”

Question 19

Prospect paints a picture of their ideal situation. Perhaps the number of jobs their getting and/or how much their making. They have expressed how that would make them feel emotionally. What do you do?

Answer 19

Compare their ideal to their reality

“Well, [john], if you don’t mind me asking… how long do you thin it would take to hit that goal of [repeat what they said] if you keep doing what you’re doing?”

Question 20

Prospect has laid out their situation tangibly and emotionally. They’ve opened up and their issues are primarily financial. They’re just not getting enough jobs (or consistent jobs) and/or they’re not charging enough. What do you say?

Answer 20

Financial consequence question

“So [name], if you don’t mind me asking… If you don’t make a change, how much will it cost you this year in lost sales?”

Question 21

Consequence questions have been asked. Prospect has laid out their situation, is feeling the ‘under the surface’ pain and has expressed the desire and urgency to change. How do you transition?

Answer 21

“Based on what you told me [name], what we’re dong MIGHT actually work for you. Because you know how you said… [plug in their logical solution] and because of that, it’s making you feel [plug in their emotional problem]… I think you mentioned… [plug in their exact emotional description]. This is what we do… We set up a system for you that will predictably bring you in 2 - 4 extra remodelling jobs every month, like clockwork. We handle the qualification process, booking estimates straight onto your calendar only for jobs that match your ideal customer. All you would have to do is go out, do the estimate and complete the job… Does that feel like it might be what you’re looking for?”

Question 22

You’ve made your pitch. Prospect says that it is something they are interested in. What do you say?

Answer 22

“Why do you feel like it is though?”

Question 24

You are on a discovery call and have made your pitch. The prospect says they are interested. How do you transition into booking in the demo call?

Answer 24

“Well [name], I think I’ve covered everything I needed to cover here… Would it make sense for us to talk again to see whether what we’re doing will fit into what you’re looking for? Would you feel comfortable with that?”

Question 25

You’re on a sales call. It’s time to transition into the close. The presentation phase is complete. The prospect has expressed that they think your solution could be the fit for them and you have probed to get them to tell you why that is. How do you transition into the close?

Answer 25

Well, I don’t have anything else to go over with you. It looks like we possibly covered what you’re looking for. Really, the next step would be to make some type of arrangement to get your new system set up and start getting new customers booked in. You can do do visa or mastercard… and at that point we’ll get your launch call booked in and get everything set up so we can get started asap. Where do you think we should go from here, [name]?

Question 26

Prospect says that they need some time to think about it.

Answer 26

Sure [name], that’s not a problem. What’s your timeframe on getting back to me in the next day or two just to see if I would be available for you?”

If prospect gives un-concrete answer…

“Well, possibly. But what I can do, if you have your calendar handy, is I can pull up mine and have you book a specific time with me, that way you don’t have to chase me down and vice versa, would that be ok with you?”

Question 27

The prospect has expressed that they need time to think it over and you have booked in a time to have another conversation. GO.

Answer 27

Now, before I go, what were you wanting to go over in your mind just so I know what questions you might have when we talk on [date]?

Question 28

The prospect has expressed that they need time to think it over and you have booked in a time to have another conversation. You have asked them what they need to go over in their mind and they have answered. GO.

Answer 28

Clarify their concern. Ask a diffusing question and then discuss it like two people who are trying to work out a solution together.

Question 29

Your sleuthing your way through concerns and have handled them. How do you check to see if there are any more?

Answer 29

With a “let’s suppose” question

“Let’s suppose we were able to resolve that issue with you. I know it’s not resolved yet, but let’s pretend that we could. Are there any other issues you might have that you would want to see resolved?”

Question 30

How do you handle a demand that you cannot meet?

Answer 30

1. Repeat what your prospect wants.
2. Make sure to include their objection or interest.
3. Turn down their request by giving them an explanation.

Wrap it up in neutral language

Question 31

What are the neutral phrases to handle a demand you cannot meet?

Answer 31

“[Name], let me make sure I understand what you want.”

“Give me a second while I put this into your perspective”

“I want you to understand why that’s further than I could actually go.”

Question 32

After you’ve handle the demand that you cannot meet and the prospect has responded favourably. What do you say?

Answer 32

“Would you like to go over with me what I think might work for you?”

Question 33

It’s a cold call. The prospect says they don’t have time to chat and can they call you back later. GO.

Answer 33

That’s not a problem. What I can do if it helps you is give you my number and you’ll have to call me back later today to see whether I would be available. Would that help? My number is +44 07893 938825. What’s your timeframe on getting back to me today, just to see whether I would be available for you?

Question 34

How do you handle the “I can’t afford it” objection?

Answer 34

Tell me, if you did have the money, is this something that would work for you?

Why do you feel it would though?

Question 35

They tell you that although they can’t afford it, that it is something that would work for them, and they tell you why. GO.

Answer 35

“I can appreciate that money might be an issue from what you told me. Tell me, how do you think you can resolve that so you can [repeat back what they want]?”

Question 36

The prospect says that they just don’t have the money after you ask how they can resolve the money issue. GO.

Answer 36

“Can I make a suggestion?”

“If I were to offer you a 30-day trial period, and in those 30-days I made you a minimum of 3x the cost of the monthly fee. Would it make sense for us to continue to work together?”