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.

I like to use this technique every time I sell. It's powerful in helping your client or prospect feel good about their decision no matter what outside influences say. This includes overriding any second thoughts they may have themselves.

With that said, I'm not going to get into the technique too deeply, but I'd like to tell you a story about how I used this when I was a young man selling 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 he signed the contract, I went through some future pacing and said, 'Imagine if someone tried to tell you that you that signing up with us was a bad decision and how stupid are you to pay for a membership, what would cause you to stay with the decision anyway?'

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

I responded, 'That's great. Now, suppose you started to doubt your own decision. What would cause you to stay with it anyway?'

He replied, 'I know what I want. Nothing is going to make me doubt my decision.'

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 a membership, I didn't have to sell it to him.'

And she said, 'Okay, he bought a membership. I'd like you to cancel it and send me notice that it's been done.'

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.'

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

So in they come the next day together. His head was hanging low and he said, 'I need to cancel this, and I wanted to bring my mom in so she can see the club. Can I go work out today and show my mom through the club? And then I'll stop by on the way out and I'll 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, 'I would be happy to take care of that for you if you can just give me 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?'

'Absolutely.'

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.

'Cancel it immediately,' she said.

I turned to him and said, 'Do you want it canceled?'

'No,' he said. And an argument ensued. He was nearly ready to sever his relationship with his mother over the gym membership.

I realized at this point what had happened. This kid was unable to back out of the agreement because I had future paced his decision. I took the contract and canceled it immediately.

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.

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Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of wealthy prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.