This weekend I dove into the riveting mystery/police drama "All the Devils Are Here" by Louise Penny.

It's one in a long-running series that features the soulful and wise leader of the Sûreté du Québec—the police force for the Canadian province of Québec—Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

About a third of the way into the book, I read these two short sentences:

"It was their turn now to connect the dots.
But first, they had to collect the dots."

This stopped me in my tracks because I often advise entrepreneurs that they need to "connect the dots" for their prospects during the sales process.

What I mean by this is that you need to demonstrate to prospects how you work while also delivering impact in the sales experience. This way, they can taste the more significant impact they will experience by working with you or using your products.

But, as the quote implies, I've skipped the critical step of talking about how to collect the dots so they can be connected.

Well, I haven't, but I don't call it that. (Maybe I should.)

In any case, one of the best ways to collect the dots is to ask good questions.

There are many ways to do this. Some of the most common are assessments, quizzes, and good old-fashioned conversation.

The trick is to ask questions that get your prospects to open up to you and share their fears, challenges, hopes, wants, and beliefs.

To do this, you not only need to ask good questions, but you need to give your prospects the space to answer.

Silence is your friend.
Don't rush in to fill the void.
Allow your prospects time, but don't let them off the hook.

I'll be honest, a lot of entrepreneurs stop here. They collect a juicy dot or two and then move right into closing the sale.

Don't do that.

Instead, transition into the next phase—connecting the dots.

Some of the ways to move from collecting into connecting mode are:

• By asking a reflective question or two — One of my go-to's is, "Why do you believe that's true?"
• Using 'case studies' — Tell stories of how you dealt with this for others and ask whether something like that might work for them.
• Sharing testimonials — Let your clients explain how you've not only solved their problem(s), but transformed their lives, businesses, thinking, etc. and ask if that's something they may want for themselves.

Ideally, you want your prospects to experience a small 'aha' that clarifies things for them and helps them both feel and see that so much more is possible by taking the next step.

A powerful and persuasive sales experience collects and connects the dots. Make sure yours does both.

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Until next week, keep digging for those pearls of insight.

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PS - Could your sales strategy use a refresh? Let's talk.
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PPS - Missed This Is Not Clickbait, where I share my top newsletter/blog hacks? Why not catch up?

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