The "Master Password" To Your Prospect's Brain
A simple foundation to pre-selling anyone, anytime, in any industry
BOO! Found ya!
Dan here…
Glad to have ya back with me, I appreciate you:-)
Before we dive in…
Quick quiz from last time…
What do superheroes do BEFORE they make offers?
If you said “pre-sell”…
Then HIGH FIVE!
You’re already on track to making clients chase you.
So let’s get this train movin’ shall we?
Today, we should talk about the KING of pre-selling.
We’re startin’ here because it’s like a “Master Password” to people’s brains.
It creates influence on an extreme level.
And if making clients chase us is a 0 to 100 game?
This ONE thing gets us 20-30% of the way to the finish line on its own… because 200 years of research tells us it makes people more open, more suggestible, and more influenceable (← who knew that was a word???)
And if you have all of those things going for ya?
Making big ticket sales is easy.
Wanna take one guess what this master password is?
AUTHORITY.
I’m talking about the kind of authority you can get THIS WEEK, by the way.
NOT the kind you have to wait 12 months and 101 testimonials for.
I got my first taste of authority making sales easier a decade ago.
I was a Personal Trainer.
Fresh off the course.
First day I walked in, ugly purple t-shirt on, shiny certificate in hand…
I expected clients to be waiting at the door for me.
They wanted to get fit.
They were already in the right location.
And I could help them do it faster.
…No brainer, right?
LOL.
I spent a whole year pacing the gym floor before I got a client.
I didn’t think I looked desperate.
Bet they could smell it on me though.
It was a long ass year.
I drank protein shakes as meals for a while because I couldn’t afford to buy food.
Bad times.
What I couldn’t figure out was why some trainers had a waiting list...
…and others, like me, couldn’t get someone to even look our way.
It wasn’t personality.
Some of the busiest guys/gals were assholes.
And it wasn’t results.
At the time, in my early 20’s…
I looked right at home on Baywatch with the muscles & red shorts.
And I had friends in the gym who I’d also whipped into shape as “proof I could do it”.
The other trainers just had something I didn’t.
But what?
One day I sat down with one of ‘em and asked him point blank…
“Why YOU?”
Why do YOU have all the clients?
He faced away from me
Pointed a finger to the back of his shirt
“HEAD TRAINER” in big white letters.
In between bites of his sandwich, he said…
“This ain’t even what the gym gave me.”
“I got it printed.”
“But people think I’m the HEAD trainer. Means they come to me FIRST. Before any of the other trainers here. And if I’ve got space. They sign up without me having to sell ‘em. All the other trainers get what’s left”
*CLICK*
Authority.
Now…
That’s a basic example of something that worked a decade ago in a small gym.
But let’s think this through…
Even though the folks at the top of your niche don’t have their title printed on a shirt…
Do you think they have an easier time selling than you do?
I’ll bet.
I’d DOUBLE or NOTHING they get fewer objections to their prices too!
Why?
Not because their results are better.
Or because they’re more well-known.
Although both help.
It’s because they have more AUTHORITY.
Now…
Most people at this point say:
“Well duh, I kinda knew that, I just can’t wait for 6-12 months to GET authority!”
I’m not asking ya to wait.
I’m impatient too:-)
The kind of authority you’re thinking about there is SOCIAL PROOF.
And that does take time to build.
But that’s only one type.
Not even the most effective.
Just the one everyone defaults to online.
Which means knowing the other ways to use authority can make you stand out, even among the guys & gals at the top.
This is soooooo important.
Because authority makes clients CHASE you!
The reason most folks struggle to make sales…
Especially in the beginning…
…is because they have no authority in their niche.
Which means just like back when I was a Personal Trainer…
The clients they want, are actively looking for authority first.
We ALL do it naturally.
Security Guard → Police → Police Chief
Nurse → Doctor → Consultant
Employee → Manager → CEO
Fitness Instructor → Personal Trainer → Head Trainer
Appointment Setter → Salesman → Head Salesman
The authority wins the deal every time.
HECK!
There was an experiment done in the 60s where people believed they were electrocuting others to DEATH, just because a guy in a lab coat was standing next to them telling them to carry on.
Authority.
DOUBLE HECK!
Think back to the Wolf of Wall Street?
The sales script he used to make hundreds of millions of dollars in the 80s and 90s (ethics aside) had EVERYONE saying they were the “Senior Vice President at the firm”!
Authority!
Let’s clear this up a little more…
NOT having authority explains why the OLD coaching funnel doesn’t work today.
Ad → Webinar → Sales Call
Look familiar?
5 years ago, this funnel worked for everyone.
You could stick a sign in the ground anywhere online & make big ticket sales.
…even with mediocre sales skillz.
Now?
Not so.
I’ve heard from dozens of coaches who have spent thousands of dollars & several months of their life trying to make this work. Mainly because someone they trust has told them they’ll make money if they get better at copywriting or sales or whatever.
There’s a looooot wrong with the current model.
We can go deeper on that another day.
For now…
If we look at it just through the lens of authority…
Where can we actually demonstrate it with this funnel?
Maybe a smidge in the webinar?
A teeny bit on the sales call??
In the ads???
It’s tough to show authority anywhere in this funnel because it’s sooooo SHORT. The goal with it is to take someone from finding out about you, all the way to becoming a paying client in 2 hours.
Aka – unreasonably fast.
A stretch even by my impatient standards.
Which is why clients don’t end up chasing when they go through this funnel!
Truth is…
The only reason it ever worked was because it was new & different…
Most stuff sells easy when it’s shiny & new.
Now?
People don’t see shiny.
Which means they fall back to looking for…?
Bingo!
Authority.
And with no way of demonstrating authority with this model…
Most folks are missing out on easy sales.
Does that make sense?
I don’t wanna skip past this if I’ve gone too fast.
If the people with authority in your niche make easier sales than you do…
What would happen if you got authority too?
I really hope I’m making this clear enough
Let’s PAUSE for a second though
I’m NOT for one minute saying authority is everything.
The way I see it…
Authority is just really great wallet lube.
It won’t get the job done on its own...
But when clients are more open, more suggestible, more easily influenced…
And less resistant to us…
It makes getting them to chase & pay us a ho’ lot easier.
I hope you see why I invested so much time on this with ya?
I know I’ve said a lot…
So if you want to visit again?
Next time we could talk about how to GET authority WITHOUT waiting?
Maybe let me know with a like or comment below?
I don’t wanna bend your ear about this if you’re not into it.
There’s lots more we could talk about:-)
In your corner,
Dan
I am one of the world's top coaches on long-distance walking (yes, that means on foot, with a pack on). I respect Dan Mallon's advice: we are peers, and he has the authority to occupy the same niche as I do. By the way, I learn fast. Thanks, Dan!
Yes! Love to hear more