A few examples will help illustrate this for you. 

Here is an easy one to start with:  As you look around your client’s office you notice a lot of pictures of family doing various activities.  You ask about a few of the photos, and spend a half hour talking about how important building good memories for children is, and how those memories will last a life time, and influence generations to come.  As these children have children they build great memories, and so on.

What have we learned? 
       This prospect has made a few big decisions. 

1.  Planning is important. Why?  Because this prospect talked a lot about planning activities and building positive memories on purpose.  This prospect doesn’t leave the things that are important to chance.

2.  The future is important.  Why?  Because this prospect spent a lot of time talking about the effects of planning to build positive memories for grandchildren, and great grand children and beyond. 

3.  Family is important, particularly the “future family”  

From that brief encounter you could write several pages about what is important to your prospect and why it is important.

So let me ask you this.  If you asked your prospect if providing for education was important?  What do you think the answer would be?  If you showed your prospect a way to guarantee the cost of education would be provided for the current children, grandchildren and so on, would that prospect be interested?

What if you had a great plan for this prospects business?  I think you get the idea.  Mind reading is easy if you can elicit the core beliefs and major decisions your prospect has made.  

A few more examples:

1. A born again Christian.
2. Someone that runs 20 miles a week.
3. I lost 40 pounds and my good cholesterol is now right in line.
4. I built own home.
5. I decided long ago to do what was right.  (this one is tricky as to us it you need to know what set of standards your prospect is using as “right”)
6. What I do for a living.
7. What I do on the weekends
8. What I do with my free time.
9. I believe in the death penalty, or I don’t believe. 

Every little thing gives us clues as to the fundamental basis by which our prospect filters information, and how and why they will answer a particular question we ask.  

Once we think we “have the core beliefs and values” we need to ask lots of questions to dial in on exactly what the cultural basis the core values and beliefs are applied against.

Once we have this final piece of the puzzle, we in fact can read our prospects minds.  We almost don’t need to ask the question as we will already know how our prospect will answer it!

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