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they feel they must pick one. If prospects appear
especially perplexed about what they want, you might
ask, “There are so many choices in the world today.
Are you looking for a little direction?” This makes a
great unit of conviction, which we’ll discuss later.
Need
The need is what the prospect feels he or she must
have to attain the want. Let’s say the want was a good
job. Your next question would be, “What do you feel
you would need to get a good job?” Remember, it’s
what the prospect feels he or she needs to fulfill the
want, not necessarily what you believe he or she will
need.
Dominant Buying Motive
The number one emotional impulse that will cause
your prospects to buy is called their DBM. The DBM
is an emotional fulfillment caused by the attainment of
the want and need. This may be the hardest blueprinting
question to get an answer to. Prospects have often been
asked what they want in life, even more often told what
they need, but rarely has anyone asked what all that
would do for them in the future. Let the prospect take
time to answer. You can’t lead them on this blueprinting
step; it must come from within themselves. The DBM
is why prospects want to do or achieve something in
their lives.
We must understand that buying decisions are
emotional rather than logical. Figure 6-8 illustrates that
only 10 percent of a buying decision is based on the
stated obvious benefit or logical reason while 90
Figure 6-8.—The DBM is like the bottom of an iceberg.
percent of the buying decision is based on the nonstated
emotional drive. Like in the case of the iceberg, only
the logical reasons are usually apparent. Prospects will
readily tell you that they want a good job, education, or
travel. The recruiter’s job is to dig down to the bottom
of the iceberg and find the prospect’s nonstated
emotional drive. Only then can the recruiter make an
effective sales presentation. The recruiter’s chance of
selling a prospect on the obvious benefits is increased
by knowing the emotional drive behind the stated want.
If you know and can fulfill the prospect’s DBM, the
sale is almost closed.
To find a prospect’s DBM, ask questions like “I
know a college degree is important. Once you have the
money and earn that degree, what do you feel it will do
for you?” or “Once you have the training and get that
good job, how do you feel you will benefit most from
it?” Although we are trying to determine the prospects’
emotional benefit, try to avoid asking how attaining the
want and need will make them feel because they are
likely to respond with an adjective like good, better, or
great.
Translating
Real life is never as simple as we make it appear in
discussions of sales technique. Prospects have never
studied sales; therefore, they don’t always respond as
we plan. The art of persuasive communication includes
the ability not only to hear what your prospect is saying
but also being able to translate that as well. For
instance, you ask the prospect what he wants in life. He
answers that he really wants financial security. Hmmm,
security of any kind constitutes an emotion and that
means DBM. Don’t let it throw you. Simply ask the
prospect what would give him financial security. The
response might be “A good paying job.” You now have
the want and the DBM. All you have to do now is ask
what the prospect feels he would need to get a good
paying job, and you can summarize and move along to
the next step of the sale. Another example of being able
to translate what the prospect is telling you to sales
terms we use to build our presentation is picking up on
clues. Let’s say your prospect tells you he is really
bored with small town life, asks if you really have
bases like the tropical scene on a poster in your office,
and looks longingly at all the places marked on the
world map that you have been stationed. You ask what
he really wants in life. He says he just doesn’t know,
but it’s not in this town. It’s a pretty safe bet that this
young man is looking for travel.
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