This is the time of year when people are looking for new mastermind groups to join. When speaking with prospective mastermind group members, it’s helpful to know in advance how to frame the conversation and design the flow of the meeting.

The goal of the sales conversation is to determine the needs of the prospective member and to see if your mastermind group is a good fit for them (and you).

Selling has gotten a bad reputation because consultants try to sell to anyone with a pulse and a wallet. If you approach the sales conversation as a mutual and respectful opportunity to find out the needs of your prospective member, you won’t feel so slimy and “salesy.” After all, you are in business to help others achieve their goals, right?

Are you and your prospect a good fit?

The only way you’ll fill your mastermind group is to discover if the two of you are a good fit. There are three questions you want to answer in the sales conversation:

• Does this prospect have a problem I can help them solve?
• Are they motivated to solve it right away?
• Do they have the money to invest in my mastermind group?

Your sales conversation agenda is geared toward finding the answers to these three questions.

If they’re not a good fit or motivated to take action, you’ll have a difficult time closing the sale. If they don’t want to spend money, you’ll have a rough time, too.

Want to learn how to start a mastermind group? Click here to get my free video tutorial on how to create a mastermind group of your own.

The 6 steps in the sales conversation process

• Step 1: Determine your goals before the meeting
• Step 2: Determine their needs and wants
• Step 3: Determine their motivation level and their timeline
• Step 4: Determine their budget
• Step 5: Determine if your mastermind group is the best option for them
• Step 6: Answer questions and handle objections

Step 1 is crucial. What do you want to get from the conversation? Do you want to close the sale immediately in the meeting? Or book another appointment to make the final decision?

Steps 2 through 4 are accomplished by asking your prospect good coaching/consulting questions and listening fully and respectfully to their answers.

The 7 questions to ask in a sales conversation

It helps to write a “sales script” in advance of your meeting. This way, you’re not floundering around trying to find the right questions during the sales meeting with a prospective member.

1. What are your goals? (For instance, if you’re talking to a small business owner, you might ask, “What are you trying to create for your business? Do you have a clear vision of where you want your business to be a year from now?”)
2. What does your world look like today? (This helps establish a baseline. The goal for them is to get from where they are today to where their big vision takes them a year from now.)
3. What’s stopping you from reaching your goals? (It’s important to find out what’s holding them back. Do they need practical knowledge and skills? Or do they need personal development help, like making good decisions, creating action plans, managing time, and dealing with limiting beliefs?)
4. What outcomes do you want from working with someone like me in a mastermind group setting? (What are their expectations of working in a mastermind group with you and the other members?)
5. What happens if you don’t work on your problems now? (Let them imagine what their world will look like if they procrastinate. For instance, you might ask, “How will you feel if you don’t reach your goals?” or “What happens if you don’t solve this problem?”)
6. What’s your timeframe for getting help or solving this problem? (You want a sense of whether they’re ready to get started or these are goals they want to work on in the future.)
7. What’s your budget? (How much are they willing to spend to reach their goals and solve the problems along the way?)

There are deeper levels of sophistication when writing your sales script and having a sales conversation. However, these seven questions will get you moving in the right direction as you’re perfecting your sales skills.

Question #2 is tricky

You want to discover their root need, not just the symptoms of the problem.

For instance, they might tell you they want to increase sales or build a bigger business, but sales have been sluggish for them. Sluggish sales are a symptom of the problem, not the root problem.

Ask probing questions to discover why this has been happening to them. Be prepared for this common answer: “I don’t know.” Part of the reason they’re looking to join a mastermind group is to get clarity about why things aren’t going the way they want.

Finding the matching service or product

Once you get through these seven questions, suggest that they either join your mastermind group, or if that’s not a good fit, which of your other products/services is the best fit for their needs and budget.

Don’t be afraid to offer them something that’s more expensive than their budget, if you can justify why this is the best solution for them. Unless you’re working with a corporate client, most people won’t know their budget, or they’ll only have an intuitive sense of what they’re willing to pay. If they’ve joined other groups before or paid for classes and workshops, they might have a more concrete range they’re willing to pay. If they don’t have a budget in mind, tell them the fee for your mastermind group, then determine if they have resistance to that fee level.

Don’t forget the final step in this process

Ask for the sale. If you think they’re a good fit, tell them you’d like to have them in your mastermind group and help them achieve their goals.  Explain why your mastermind group is the right fit based on their needs, timeframe, and budget.

And if you don’t think it’s a good fit, tell them so.

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