The 5 Question Approach

We ask questions to see if prospects have problems. The 5 question approach gets prospects to reveal their problems so we can fix them.

If they don’t have problems, then there is nothing we can fix or help with.

We need a way of asking questions and getting prospects to open up about the irritants in their lives which bug them.

Want to get prospects to open up more about those things which nag them? We need to get better at questions.

With the 5 question approach, we can.

If you are not getting the results for your business, it is not because of what you are DOING… it’s likely because of what you are SAYING with the questions you ask.

Fortunately, people have lots of problems. Problems are easy to discover if we ask these two questions in the right order.

— Question #1: “What do you like most about ______?”

— Question #2: “What do you like least about ______?”

Question #1 is unimportant. This question is asked to get the prospect to relax. If we start out with question #2, the prospect will hesitate and we would fall out of rapport.

The answer to question #2 is what we want. This question will tell us exactly how our prospect or business can solve problems for our prospects.

Here is an example.

Question #1: “What do you like most about your job?”

Prospect: “Well, the pay is okay. And it was my dream job out of school.”

Question #2: “What do you like least about your job?”

Prospect: “I’m stuck in an office all day. I never get out. Never get a chance to talk to people. I ate moving paper from one side of the desk to the other. I am more a people person.”

Now we know exactly what to say to the prospect. Our presentation will focus on his problem… career dissatisfaction.

Our presentation won’t seem like a generic sales pitch. It will be customized to them.

The Formula of the 5 Question Approach

The 5 question approach makes it easy for our prospects to make immediate decisions about Network Marketing, even before we begin our presentation.

Here is the formula:

Question #1: “if there is a way you could (insert some benefits) … you would like to know about it, wouldn’t you?

We offer multiple benefits. Our prospects will like at least one of them.

Question #2: “Have you ever (ask for previous experience) before?”

This will give us a clue about how our prospects make their decisions.

Question #3: “What did you like most about ______?”

This is an easy question for our prospects to answer. And because we ask this question, it will seem more natural for us to ask the next question.

Question #4: “What did you like least about _____?”

This is the most important question. The purpose of business is to solve problems. We have to find out our prospects’ problems. This is the perfect question to accomplish that.

Question #5: “What is the most important reason you want to….?”

When we know our prospect’s “why,” it is easier to overcome objections. If their “why” is big enough, no objection will stand in their way. All we have to do is keep reminding our prospects of their “why.”

Our prospect tells us: “The most important reason I want to start a business? I hate waking up to the alarm clock every morning.”

Now for almost any objection from this prospect, we would say, “But you do want to get rid of that alarm, don’t you?”

Imagine this prospect objected and said, “Oh, I don’t know if I have time to start a part-time business.” We would reply,” But you do want to get rid of that alarm, don’t you?”

An Example of the 5 Question Approach

Let’s use an example of the 5 question approach.

Question #1: “If there is a way you could walk away from your job, work 12-15 hours at home making $6,500 a month, move to a better neighborhood with a nicer home and better schools for your kids, and never have to worry about the price tag with anything you buy again… you would at least like to know about it, wouldn’t you?”

Our prospects should be saying “yes” because we gave them four great benefits. They will like at least one of the benefits.

Let’s imagine the prospect tells us, “That 12-15 hours a week sounds good. I hate working 40 hours a week at my job.” He has revealed his problem. So, let’s pivot the remaining 4 questions around that problem.

Question #2: “Have you ever been able to work 12-15 hours a week?”

Listen to the prospect’s answer. If they have lost their energy to work 40 hours a week because the job is boring and mundane, we know what we should focus on.

Question #3: “What did you like most about working 40 hours a week when you first started with the company?”

This question is positive and non-invasive. It comforts the prospect and gets them to relax. We ask this question so that we will have permission to ask the next question.

Question #4: “What did you like least about working 40 hours a week at your job?”

Our prospect will tell us what they don’t like about working 40 hours a week. We can adjust our offering based upon what they liked and didn’t like.

For example, if they said they like the salary they get and don’t like the same mundane routine at work every day because it’s boring, we can adjust our presentation around these points. This question helps us avoid offending our prospects by presenting something they don’t want.

Question #5: “What is the most important reason you want to work 12-15 hours a week?”

This question will give us their motivation. With their motivation in our hands, we can handle any objection which they might have.

“I want to work 1-15 hours a week because I hate warehousing my kids in daycare.”

“I want to work 12-15 hours a week to have more time to myself for playing golf.”

“I want to work 12-15 hours a week because my doctor tells me my job is stressing me out. And I can’t quit because I need the money.”

When they throw out an objecting, we would say,

“But you do want to stop warehousing your kids in daycare, don’t you?”

“But you do want more time playing golf, the game that you love, don’t you?”

“But you do want to relieve stress by working 12-15 hours a week at home and making the same or more money than you do at your job, don’t you?”

Prospects have problems. We can fix them. That is why we have the 5 question approach. This is why prospects love us.