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The Solution Stage: Creating a Compelling Future Vision

🔑 Introduction: The Emotional Heart of Your Sales Conversation

Core Insight: "This is where you discover what it really means to them, who they want to be—the fun stuff."

Unlike the problem stage (focused on current challenges) or the consequence stage (focused on what happens without change), the solution stage illuminates possibilities and deeper meaning.

🏆 The Earned Right Principle

Foundational Truth: "You must earn the right to ask transformative questions."

The Three Prerequisites:

Openness: Prospect's willingness to share authentically

Positioning: Your established role as a guide/authority

Call Control: Your ability to direct conversation flow

The Failure Point:

"The biggest problem I see is people trying to ask these powerful questions without first creating openness, proper positioning, and call control. When the questions don't work, they conclude, 'Those aren't good questions.' In reality, they simply haven't earned the right to ask them."

Implementation Challenge:

Even brilliant questions like "How would that type of life make you feel?" fall flat without established trust and openness.

🎯 Twin Objectives of the Solution Stage

1. Make Their Goal Bigger

Expand beyond surface-level desires

Connect to deeper motivations

Elevate from tactical to transformational

2. Make Their Goal Brighter

Create vivid mental imagery

Generate emotional connection

Transform vague notions into tangible visions

Convert abstract concepts ("success") into meaningful specifics

The VIP Framework:

Focus questions around their:

Values (what matters most)

Identity (who they want to become)

Purpose (their impact on others)

🧩 Strategic Question Sequencing

The Setup Technique:

Prime prospects to give better answers by asking preliminary questions that activate the right mental frameworks.

Question Framing Strategies:

Recall Past Success: "When you did have these results, what was that like?"

Explore Previous Attempts: "What positive things did you get from past programs?"

Extract Improvement Areas: "What would have made those experiences better?"

The Setup Effect:

"If you ask them about past successes first, when you later ask what they want in a program, they'll naturally reference those positive elements because they're fresh in their mind."

💫 Core Solution Stage Questions

Future Visualization Questions:

"What do you want to see change in the next 60-90 days?"

"If we were having coffee a year from now, what would have had to happen for this to be one of the best decisions of your life?"

"Walk me through what six months from now looks like if everything goes perfectly?"

Personal Meaning Questions:

"If you did find a way to get your energy levels back and start feeling like yourself again with your family, what would that do for you personally?"

"If you could finally step back and spend time with your family like you mentioned, when would you want to start seeing this life happen for you?"

Connection Questions:

"Beyond just you, who else would benefit from this transformation?"

"How would this change impact those around you?"

🧠 The Psychological Framework

The Chords vs. Songs Principle

"When you learn music, you start by playing other people's songs, but eventually you want to learn the chords so you can make your own music. I'm teaching you these things so you can make your own music."

The Bridge Metaphor

Create a vivid gap between their current reality and desired future:

"The bigger the gap from where they are to where they want to be, the more likely they are to sign up. Let's make a big bridge, a big gap."

💡 Advanced Implementation Strategies

Words That Create Meaning:

Use their exact language back to them

Reference specific details they've shared

Connect their goals to their stated values

The Purpose Expansion:

"Help them realize this benefits someone other than themselves—their family, clients, staff, or community. You want their transformation to create a better world."

The Futures vs. Features Principle:

"So many sellers sell features. We sell futures, not features. Sell the future."

🌠 Final Wisdom

The solution stage isn't about pushing your offering—it's about creating such a compelling and meaningful vision that the prospect genuinely wants to step into it.

When done correctly, the solution stage transforms your offering from a product or service into a doorway to a better life and identity.

Remember: You're not selling a transaction; you're facilitating a transformation.

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