Future pacing is a phenomenal strategy that reminds your prospect of all the reasons they made the decision to purchase or sign up with you, and transfers all of those reasons to the future, reminding them why, through triggers and signals that you will have installed.

This is a technique I use every time I sell something. It is potent in helping your client or prospect feel secure in their decision to purchase regardless of what outside influences (including their own second thoughts) might try to say.

Because this is a more advanced technique, I won't be going into it too deeply here, but giving you more of an overview and example of how this works. As a young man I used this to sell health spa memberships.

I had a customer come in one day, an eighteen year old, who wanted a membership. I didn't even have to sell him. He was ready to go.

After the young man signed the contract I employed a little future pacing with him. I said, 'Imagine if someone were to tell you that joining up with us was a bad decision. What would cause you to go through with your commitment to join up?'

And he said, 'I want this and no one's going to talk me out of it. I do what I want.'

I said, 'Okay. Supposing you begin to doubt the decision yourself, what would cause you to stay with this decision?'

He explained, 'I absolutely know what I want and I want this membership. I make my own decisions and that's it.'

A few hours later I got a phone call from the young man's mother. She said, 'Hey, you sold my son a gym membership earlier today.'

I said, 'He came in and bought one, I didn't really have to sell him anything.'

She responded, 'Okay. So he bought a membership. But I'd like it if you would cancel it immediately and send me a notice that it's been canceled.'

I said, 'I'm sorry, can't do that. He's over eighteen otherwise I couldn't have sold it to him. He needs to bring in the paperwork, as per the terms of the agreement that he signed, and we'll be happy to cancel it. He has seventy-two hours to do it.'

'Okay, we'll be there tomorrow,' she said.

The next day the young man and his mother showed up together. I could see the young man was unhappy about this. His head was hanging low. He said to me, 'I need to cancel this membership. But I wanted to bring my mom in to see the gym. Can I work out today and show it to her. On my way out I'll stop by to cancel it.'

I said, 'Certainly. Go right ahead and show her around.'

He went and worked out. And after he worked out, the kid ducked out the back and left his mom at the gym.

She approached me and said, 'We need to cancel this membership now.'

I said, 'Sure. I'll be happy to take care of that for you. I'll need the contract.'

She said, 'I don't have it. He has it.'

'I have to follow the terms of the agreement. And I'm more than happy to cancel this membership, but I'm going to need that contract. So he has 72 hours, like I said, to come back in and we'll take care of that for you.'

The next day the kid comes in, brings the agreement and says, 'I'm supposed to give this to you, but before I do, can I just work out?'

I said, 'Sure. Go ahead.'

So he worked out and left without seeing me.

The third day came. His mother dragged him in and said, 'Give the man the goddamn contract.' He handed it to me.

She said, 'Cancel the contract.'

I asked the guy, 'Do you want this contract canceled?'

'No!' He started to argue with his mother in front of me, all the reasons why he had to have this membership. He seemed virtually ready to sever his relationship with her to save his membership.

At this point, I took the membership and canceled it. I realized what had happened. I hadn't given it a second thought until I saw this kid unable to hand back the agreement because he had made a decision and I had future paced it.

When you future pace something, you lock it into the mind of the person and I'm telling you right now that with the power of the strength of their own mind, you will have virtually locked them in.