Website design By BotEap.comWe’ve been talking about pain a lot in our recent blogs, which naturally leads us to talk about Sandler’s funnel of pain. But, first I would like to tell you a quick story:

Website design By BotEap.comIt is 5:30 pm on a beautiful summer day. Mom listens to little five-year-old Jimmy running across the back porch. She opens the screen door and roars into the house. She jumps into the kitchen where Mom is busy making dinner. Before she can ask Jimmy if she had fun playing outside, he says, “Hey, Mommy, can I have an ice cream cone?”

Website design By BotEap.comHis mom replies, “You can have ice cream after dinner.” The next afternoon, her mom hears Jimmy running up the stairs. She bursts into the kitchen again and asks the same question: “Can I have an ice cream cone?” Her mom says, “Jimmy, after dinner, you can have one.”

Website design By BotEap.comOn the third day, Jimmy comes running the same way. He looks at his mom and says, “Mommy, can I…”? As soon as these words leave his mouth, he sees that look on his face. He already knows what her answer will be. So he says, “What time is dinner?” “In about 25 minutes,” she says. Jimmy says, “Okay,” and walks back out.

Website design By BotEap.comSo you ask, “what’s the point of the story?” People are taught at a very young age not to fold all their cards, or spill the beans. Why? Because you usually don’t win if you reveal your hand too early in the game. In our story, Jimmy was driving her mother crazy with the same question every day at dinner, until he realized that she was at the boiling point and was going to be mad. Jimmy didn’t want to face the pain of making her mom mad, so he changed her question to one that would make mom happy. He avoided the pain, just like most prospects want to do when he visits.

Website design By BotEap.comMost people are raised to avoid revealing their true agenda in potentially difficult situations. Knowing this, we addressed this issue in Sandler’s sales process, using the patented Sandler Pain Funnel, a powerful tool used to uncover a prospect’s true agenda, or “pain.”

Website design By BotEap.comUNDERSTANDING THE FUNNEL OF PAIN

Website design By BotEap.comThe Pain Funnel is a strategically organized set of questions designed to uncover a potential client’s pain. On the other hand, it can also help you discover the prospect doesn’t have any pain. Either way, this is good for you. Why? It allows you to qualify or disqualify the lead as a true lead. If they are in pain, then resolution can be brought about or their pain removed. If not, you can shake hands and share as friends.

Website design By BotEap.comBefore proceeding with the use of the Pain Funnel, please note that the funnel works very well on its own, but it works best when combined with other techniques we use in the Sandler Sales Process, especially with the Sandler Pain-O. -Meter and investment tools. So stay tuned for future blogs on these topics.

Website design By BotEap.comAgain, the Pain Funnel is a series of questions used by an expert salesperson during the Pain Step, whether in a face-to-face sales call or over the phone. It includes eight pain questions designed to sequentially bring the prospect closer to sharing their true agenda or pain.

Website design By BotEap.comHere are the 8 questions in order:

Website design By BotEap.com1. “Tell me more about that…”

Website design By BotEap.com2. “Can you be more specific? Give me an example.”

Website design By BotEap.com3. “How long has this been a problem?”

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Website design By BotEap.com5. “And that worked?”

Website design By BotEap.com6. “How much do you think it cost you?”

Website design By BotEap.com7. “How do you feel about it?”

Website design By BotEap.com8. “Have you stopped trying to solve the problem?”

Website design By BotEap.comWe saw earlier in Jimmy’s story how people prefer not to reveal their hand up front. Many people fear the consequences of unbridled honesty and showing his true colors. Thus, the Pain Funnel assumes the prospect’s agenda will remain hidden, and helps bring the truth to the surface. However, you have to be subtle and methodical in your approach when using the pain funnel. If you try too hard too fast, you will most likely hit some resistance. The prospect may feel threatened or vulnerable, and quickly shy away from telling the truth. So stick to the tried and true questions in the funnel, along with the other techniques you learn in the Sandler System and it will surely put your prospect at ease and guide them through discussing their real issues and pain.