Overcoming the Poor Attention Span of Our Prospects

Two problems exist for most prospects. Their poor attention — approximately equivalent to that of a gnat. And the long-winded presentations of most opportunities.

Can you figure how where things go wrong?
Prospects are confused before we start our business presentation and after we finish our business presentation.
Their confusion means more NO decisions than YES.
While we are talking about the wonderful company, the wonderful industry, the wonderful products, the wonderful training, and the wonderful compensation plan… our prospects aren’t listening.
While we are talking the poor attention span of a gnat inside prospects’ heads is stopping them from listening.
The average attention span of adults is less than twenty-minutes. The average attention span of children is two-minutes.
Why don’t we cut our presentations down to the attention span of a child ensuring we get more YES decisions than NO?
We solve this problem with a two-minute story. This is a customized story for our prospects.
Overcome the poor attention span of a gnat in prospects with a two-minute story customized for them.
Prospects in their minds are the most interesting people that they know.
Make the story about them and prospects will listen.

The Invitation

All of the words in the two-minute story work hard at overcoming the poor attention span of a gnat in prospects’ heads.
While we are talking, prospects are speaking inside their heads, “I have a short attention span. Let’s get this over with.”
The two-minute story has five parts.
— 1. The invite.
— 2. The prospect’s vision.
— 3. The strategy question.
— 4. The two-minute story.
— 5. The close.

#1. The Invite

So, we start our invitation with the phrase,
— I’ve got a good story. Takes about two-minutes. It might make you money, might not. Want to hear it?
We break the poor attention span of a gnat in prospects. And we get our prospect’s attention.

#2. The prospect’s vision

Now that we have overcome their short attention spans, we will engage the prospects.
— Would it be okay if you never had to go to work again?
— Would it be okay if you could retire in 5-years and never had to worry about going to work again?
— Would it be okay if you could give yourself your own pay raise twice a month and never had to worry about going to work again?
This question does the heavy lifting of discovering the perfect vision in our prospects’ minds.
— Would it be okay if you could wake up at noon because you are a night person and never had to worry about going to work again?
— Would it be okay if you could home school your children and taking unlimited long weekends and never had to worry about going to work again?
— Would it be okay if you could golf during the week when the golf courses are empty and never had to worry about going to work again?
We tailor-make the question to the prospect’s personal vision.

#3. The strategy question.

Then we continue with this question,
— So, how much money would you need a month, just to cover the basic bills, so that you would never have to show up at work again?
We did not ask how much money they earned. That would be too personal. All we are asking is the minimum it would take a month for the prospect to take care of his bills.
We want to keep this figure in mind when we get to the two-minute story.
You will need to figure how many people with our business that it would take so that the prospect never has to go to work again.
For my business, the number is 25 people per $1,000.
So if the prospect says they need $5,000 a month, I would take $5,000 and divide by $1,000 and multiple by 25 = 125 people. ($5,000 ÷ $1,000) X (25 people per $1,000) = 125 people.
Whatever the number of people that your business model requires per $1,000, you will need for the two-minute story.

#4. The two-minute story.

Are two-minute story must start out assuring the prospect that what we offer is something everybody does.
— Well, you know how people are always dieting and trying to lose a few pounds? Well, there is a company called Mr. Wonderful that helps people lose weight naturally, just by drinking their special breakfast shake.
— Well, you know how most people drink coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day? Well, there is a great company called Mr. Wonderful that makes cool versions of healthy coffees, teas, shakes and an all-natural, super organic energy drink people love.
— Well, you know how everyone gets dehydrated and sore muscles from working and playing hard? Well, there is a company called Mr. Wonderful that makes a wearable bracelet that keeps your muscles from getting sore by hydrating your muscle cells.
Now the second part of two-minute story to overcome the poor attention span of a gnat in prospects’ minds.
— Now, if you never wanted to go to work again, all you would have to do is eventually locate 125 people who wanted to lose weight one time and keep it off forever by changing what they have for breakfast.
— Now, if you never wanted to go to work again, all you would have to do is eventually locate 125 people who wanted to drink healthy versions of our coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day.
— Now, if you never wanted to go to work again, all you would have to do is eventually locate 125 people who wanted to relieve sore muscles and dehydrated cells during work or play with our wearable bracelet.
At this point, prospects are throwing up their hands and thinking, “How am I going to get 125 people?”
This is where the next sentence comes in.
— Now you don’t know how to get 125 people, but you can learn. You learned how to drive a car, you learned how to use a smart phone, and you can certainly learn a system of how to get 125 people who want to lose weight one time and keep it off forever by changing what they have for breakfast.
— Now you don’t know how to get 125 people, but you can learn. You learned how to drive a car, you learned how to use a smart phone, and you can certainly learn a system of how to get 125 people who want to drink healthy versions of our coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day.
— Now you don’t know how to get 125 people, but you can learn. You learned how to drive a car, you learned how to use a smart phone, and you can certainly learn a system on how to get 125 people who want to relieve sore muscles and parch dehydrated cells during work or play with our wearable bracelet.
Notice we use a SYSTEM. People are used to systems. Systems are a language which speaks to people. People learn systems every day. They learned of system of using a computer. They learned a system of driving a car. And they learned a system of using a smart phone.
Now, we must refocus our prospect’s short attention span back to the big picture.
— So what is going to be easier on you? To continue working a job that you have no passion for, or to make money working from home with learning a system of getting 125 people that want to lose weight one time and keep it off forever by changing what they have for breakfast instead?
— So what is going to be easier on you? To continue working a job that you have no passion for, or to make money working from, home with learning a system of getting 125 people who want to drink healthy versions of our coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day instead?
— So what is going to be easier on you? To continue working a job that you have no passion for, or to make money working from home with learning a system of getting 125 people that want to relieve sore muscles and parch dehydrated cells during work or play with our wearable bracelet instead?

#5. The close.

At the end of the presentation, we wait. Our prospects can volunteer, or not. Forcing people to join is only a short-term solution.
Our prospects will react in one of three ways.
— Choice #1: I want to learn the system. Let’s get started.
— Choice #2: This is not for me.
— Choice #3: This sounds good, but I need to know more.
Most people will want more information. Most people have a program in their minds from their parents that says, “Don’t make any decision to move forward until you have more facts.”
So, how do we handle choice #3? We reply with,
— What would you like to know first?
— What would you like to know next?
— What would you like to do next?
Here are some common questions and our replies?
— How much does it cost. Maximum is $1,100, minimum is $400.
— Where is the company located? We have two offices. The USA office is Dallas, Texas. Our South American office is Lima, Peru.
— When did the company start doing business? 2007.
— Are products good? Yes, thousands of people from around the world drink our products every day.
— How much money have you made? None. It is a business. It will take 6-months for me to make a good profit. Then I am going to take a cruise for a week and relax. I just wanted to know if you want to join with me now, so we can cruise together. Or, if you would rather give me your address, I can send you a postcard from my cruise.
— The ingredients? All natural.
— Is this a pyramid? No.
— How does the compensation plan work? Well, if we have a lot of people using the products, we make a lot of money. If we have fewer people using the products, we make less money.
— How do the compensation plan percentages work? You will memorize and learn all the percentages in the training sessions.
— Do you front the start up cost? No. We can guarantee the skills to make you successful. We cannot guarantee that you will apply the skills to be successful. You don’t apply the skills, we don’t get paid? That is why we don’t front your startup cost.
Soon our prospects run out of questions.
And so we then ask, “What would you like to know next?” At this point, the prospect has nothing left to ask.
Our next question refocuses them back to the big picture, “What would you like to do next?”
It is either this is for me, or it is not for me.
Have we overcome the poor attention span of a gnat in our prospects’ minds? With a two-minute story about our company, we have.

Examples

Let’s put together our two-minute story.

#1. Weight Loss Products.

I’ve got a good story. Takes about two-minutes. It might make you money, might not. Want to hear it?
Would it be okay if you could home school your children and taking unlimited long weekends and never had to worry about going to work again?
So, how much money would you need a month, just to cover the basic bills, so that you would never have to show up at work again?
Well, you know how people are always dieting and trying to lose a few pounds? Well, there is a company called Mr. Wonderful that helps people lose weight naturally, just by drinking their special breakfast shake.
Now, if you never wanted to go to work again, all you would have to do is eventually locate 125 people who wanted to lose weight one time and keep it off forever by changing what they have for breakfast.
Now you don’t know how to get 125 people, but you can learn. You learned how to drive a car, you learned how to use a smart phone, and you can certainly learn a system of how to get 125 people who want to lose weight one time and keep it off forever by changing what they have for breakfast.
So what is going to be easier on you? To continue working a job that you have no passion for, or to make money working from home with learning a system of getting 125 people that want to lose weight one time and keep it off forever by changing what they have for breakfast instead?
— What would you like to know first?
— What would you like to know next?
— What would you like to do next?

#2. Healthy Coffees, Teas, Shakes and Energy Drinks.

I’ve got a good story. Takes about two-minutes. It might make you money, might not. Want to hear it?
Would it be okay if you could wake up at noon because you are a night person and never had to worry about going to work again?
So, how much money would you need a month, just to cover the basic bills, so that you would never have to show up at work again?
Well, you know how most people drink coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day? Well, there is a great company called Mr. Wonderful that makes cool versions of healthy coffees, teas, shakes and an all-natural, super organic energy drink people love.
Now, if you never wanted to go to work again, all you would have to do is eventually locate 125 people who wanted to drink healthy versions of our coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day.
Now you don’t know how to get 125 people, but you can learn. You learned how to drive a car, you learned how to use a smart phone, and you can certainly learn a system of how to get 125 people who want to drink healthy versions of our coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day.
So what is going to be easier on you? To continue working a job that you have no passion for, or to make money working from home with learning a system of getting 125 people who want to drink healthy versions of our coffees, teas, shakes and energy drinks every day instead?
— What would you like to know first?
— What would you like to know next?
— What would you like to do next?

#3. Wearable technology.

I’ve got a good story. Takes about two-minutes. It might make you money, might not. Want to hear it?
Would it be okay if you could golf during the week when the golf courses are empty and never had to worry about going to work again?
So, how much money would you need a month, just to cover the basic bills, so that you would never have to show up at work again?
Well, you know how everyone gets dehydrated and sore muscles from working and playing hard? Well, there is a company called Mr. Wonderful that makes a wearable bracelet that keeps your muscles from getting sore by hydrating your muscle cells.
Now, if you never wanted to go to work again, all you would have to do is eventually locate 125 people who wanted to relieve sore muscles and dehydrated cells during work or play with our wearable bracelet.
Now you don’t know how to get 125 people, but you can learn. You learned how to drive a car, you learned how to use a smart phone, and you can certainly learn a system on how to get 125 people who want to relieve sore muscles and parch dehydrated cells during work or play with our wearable bracelet.
So what is going to be easier on you? To continue working a job that you have no passion for, or to make money working from home with learning a system of getting 125 people that want to relieve sore muscles and parch dehydrated cells during work or play with our wearable bracelet instead?
— What would you like to know first?
— What would you like to know next?
— What would you like to do next?
We are only two-minutes into a complete presentation with closing. We’ve gotten our prospects attention. We have overcome the poor attention span of a gnat in our prospects’ minds. And we did in two-minutes.
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