What is future pacing and how will you use it?
We have referred to this type of question rather light-heartedly in the chapter title as ‘time travel’ because it encourages your potential client to walk mentally into, and visualise, their future reality, void of the benefits offered by the services or products you are offering.
The acknowledged name for this language pattern, and the one we adopt for the remainder of this chapter, is future pacing. It works by encouraging your prospects to imagine vividly the negative impact and full consequences not embracing your offer will have on their lives. As with all, not least with this technique, rapport is the foundation of its success; without it, it will not succeed.
At this juncture, you might be wondering precisely how we accomplish the ‘future pacing effect’ and motivate others to think positively about our products and services or do what we want them to do. Curiously, you have already travelled to a distant future and experienced the journey towards the end of the last chapter. Do you recall reading the following passage? For clarity, the numbers refer to the specific language patterns and linguistic techniques we have used.
Now you are aware (1) of how much more persuasive you will be when asking powerful questions; it is worrying to think about (2) what will happen if you fail to do so (3). Isn’t it? (4) Imagine (5) losing more business and paving the way for the competition (6). You have realised that (7) getting close to your sales target can sometimes be a struggle. Haven’t you? (8)
Consider (9) the reduction in your spending power if your bonus drops. What if (10) job security became an issue? (11) Let’s face it, holding down a sales job in an increasingly competitive market isn’t easy, is it? (12)
We are pleased to say that we do not want you to be concerned about any of this happening. Because (13) it is our mission to ensure you never experience professional failure. You see, we are going to guide you smoothly and quickly through the process of acquiring the skills to quantum leap your questioning and persuasive abilities. Now, a person can get really enthused about this, can’t you? (14)
Can you recollect the feelings it evoked and the thoughts that passed through your mind when you read this for the first time?
We deliberately exaggerated the technique by asking a lot of questions. Nevertheless their singular purpose was to encourage you to walk mentally into a dismal future and visualise yourself struggling to win business, having less money and being vulnerable to job security issues looming on the horizon. We included in those short paragraphs four internal representations and tag questions, two awareness patterns and three powerful questions, compelling you to envision and intensely dislike the potential future reality you had pictured so much that you would strive to ensure it did not happen by integrating powerful persuasive questions into your sales presentations.
Let us review what was said in those earlier paragraphs in more depth:
| 1 | Awareness pattern | Aware |
| 2 | Internal representation | Think about |
| 3 | Pre-suppositional question | What will happen |
| 4 | Tag question | Isn’t it? |
| 5 | Internal representation | Imagine |
| 6 | Negative suggestion | Losing more business and paving the way for competition |
| 7 | Awareness pattern | Realised |
| 8 | Tag question | Haven’t you? |
| 9 | Internal representation | Consider |
| 10 | Internal representation | What if |
| 11 | Powerful question | Planting suggestion – job insecurity |
| 12 | Tag question | Is it? |
| 13 | Because logic | Because we want you to believe our mission |
| 14 | Tag question/pronoun shift | Can’t you? |
The structure of a future pacing question
The technique has two parts. In the first, we guide our prospects to visualise a future void of the benefits offered by our products and service and, in the second, we assure them it is our mission to ensure the future they have imagined will not happen.
Part one
Use the vocabulary of internal representation and awareness to pose powerful ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘What if’ lead questions to ensure your prospect graphically pictures the adverse consequences, personal and/or corporate, that not progressing with your offer brings.
| Vocabulary of internal representation | Vocabulary of awareness |
|---|---|
| Consider/considered | Notice |
| Think about | See |
| What if | Observe |
| Imagine/imagined | Realise |
| How about | Aware |
| If you could have | Experience |
| What would/will it be like if/when | Discover |
| Think through | Detect |
| Reflect on |
Part two
Part two is where all the difficulties are resolved as you advise your prospect that everything they have just imagined will not happen because it is your mission to guarantee it does not.
How to deliver future pacing questions
Both your manner and tone of voice are crucial to ensure the effectiveness of this technique. It is best to adopt a conversational style, as your questions should be articulated without particular emphasis and not marked out as you would, for example, at the beginning of a meeting, when broad questions are the norm because their purpose is to elicit information. Remember, you are asking rhetorical questions only to plant suggestions and ideas, a response is not necessarily required or expected. Unless it is evident that your prospect wishes to respond, move the conversation on gently once you have asked the question.
How to maximise the effectiveness of future pacing questions
Ask yourself, apart from the obvious advantages that owning your product will bring, what are the specific requirements your client desires? Do they need your product/service to:
- achieve a goal? (Towards-oriented) or
- prevent something from happening? (Away-oriented)
Identifying your prospect’s motivational direction is especially valuable when composing future pacing questions for two reasons:
- Rapport is strengthened, as you are talking the same language as your prospect.
- You have identified how they go about achieving their objectives. Understanding this expertly enables you to describe graphically, in their preferred linguistic style, the consequences of failing to realise them.
To identify a future pacing question, before your meeting, answer the following question on behalf of your prospect, ‘Why is not buying your product or service not a good idea?’ By answering this, you will identify the consequences and potential pain your prospect could experience by not buying what you are offering.
Future pacing a towards-oriented individual
Towards-oriented people are motivated by what they will gain and achieve. To future pace them, help them to imagine the consequences of failing to reach their objective, however they have defined it.
Future pacing an away-oriented individual
Away-oriented people are driven by a strong desire to prevent something from happening or they move away from a problem to achieve their goal. Help them to imagine the worst case scenario of that event taking place.
It is alarming, isn’t it? Now you are aware how much more persuasive you will be when using future pacing questions and statements in your presentations, think about what will happen if you fail to do so.
Enjoy this technique; used wisely it will make a huge difference to your persuasive abilities.
- One of the most powerful ways to persuade someone is to stimulate their imagination and enable them to visualise vividly the possible alarming outcomes that might occur, should they not accept your offer, before you reassure them that, whatever they have envisioned, will not happen, to their great relief!
- Future pacing is particularly effective when combined with the vocabulary of internal representation because this language stimulates the imagination of your subject.
- Use this technique discreetly in a conversational style for maximum effect.
- When asking future pacing questions do not necessarily expect an answer, because the purpose is to plant suggestions and ‘What if’ scenarios in your prospect’s mind.