Two sales coaches discuss how to ask clients about their budget without triggering guilt or fear. The key: acknowledge the discomfort upfront, say explicitly that you're not trying to make them feel bad, and frame it as necessary for reaching their goals.
I use desired monthly spending, but I've noticed a reaction of some clients because they feel guilty about spending. Number that I need to know, I need to know what do they want to spend.
I want you to say that.
I want you to literally say that.
They want me to say that. Right, so if you see that guilt reaction, you can say, listen, I know this is kind of a weird number. I don't want you to feel guilty. I need to know this number so we can work towards it.
Acknowledge the fear or the reaction.
Yes, and then say that you're the person they can rely on and trust to take them to a closer dream state. Like, you're the guide in the hero's journey. Your client's the hero. They're the reluctant hero. You are the guy. And so the more that you are acknowledging exactly how they feel, whether that's guilt or anxiety or fear, and then you're like, I have a plan, I know these numbers work, I have seen this happen for thousands of clients, I want you to be one of those people, they then go, okay, maybe I can let myself dream with this person. Oh wow, I need the energy and activation to have the courage to do these things and actually follow through on these steps and stick to my budget. That's dopamine. So I think that that question is a good bridge question, and acknowledge it if you see the guilt. Very helpful, thank you.
