- Sell Me Something
- Posts
- "Why Now?" Framework
Your prospect is getting 10-20 cold messages per day.
Picture for a second you’re walking through the mall - ads as far as the eye can see, all begging you to walk into their store and buy something.
Finally, you see that graphic tee that catches your eye.
Right color
Logo in the right spot
I can see myself wearing that
So you walk in the store and pick it up. woah that’s soft.
But, wait there’s no price tag on it - I guess I have to bring it up to the counter to see how much it costs.
Before we jump into the sale, let’s consider the buying process so far:
After being bombarded by ads all throughout the mall, walking past dozens of other stores, blindly walking past racks of other graphic tees, the buyer chose to walk into your store and pick up that shirt.
Your buyer is now walking up to the counter, shirt in hand, and for some inexplicable reason our first instinct as salespeople is:
“BEFORE I TELL YOU HOW MUCH IT COSTS ARE YOU GOING TO BE THE ONE MAKING THE DECISION TO PURCHASE THE SHIRT TODAY?”
“I’M SURE YOU CONSIDERED WEARING A LOT OF OTHER GRAPHIC TEES TODAY, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE ONES YOU ALREADY HAVE?”
How many qualification questions do you think you can handle before you say, ‘You know what, this shirt isn’t as cool as I thought,’ put it back on the rack, and walk away?
Let’s try something different:
“Cool shirt - what about it caught your eye?”
“Big plans? That shirt looks like a great fit”
Your prospect insta-deleted hundreds of cold pitches before scheduling time with you.
Maybe, just maybe, ask them “why?” first.
… continued in The Value Prop
The Open: I’m a big graphic tee guy
The Value Prop: The “Why Now?” Framework
Adding Value: Discovery questions to keep in mind after “why now?”
The Close: The buying process should be effortless
The “Why Now?” Framework
The post-AI sales framework looks different than the traditional BANT, MEDDIC, ANUM, NEAT and SPICED frameworks of qualification.
The reason? Buyers can just type into ChatGPT what your company does and how your product works. And, in just a few messages back and forth, can see if that’s a good fit for their process.
On top of that they can use ChatGPT to search the entire internet for your pricing range if it’s not easily accessible on your website.
For that reason we should start going into every conversation with a few assumptions:
Our prospect is qualified, because…
Our prospect has a baseline understanding of what we do.
Our prospect has an idea of our price range already.
Our prospect agreed to take time out of their day to speak to us instead of our competitors who are also sending them cold outreach
Now, instead of peppering our prospects with qualifying questions we can jump right into it…
“Why Now?”
That conversation track looks like this:
Let’s break it down:
Intros - introduce yourself first, qualify your expertise. Ask them to introduce themselves, they’ll follow your lead and qualify their expertise as well.
Agenda - The agenda is where you take full control of the conversation. This where you set the tone and pace as well as structure the call so there’s no getting “lost in the weeds.”
Why [Your Company] - Ask them how familiar they are with your company and then follow that up with 90 seconds max aligning on your company’s key value prop and key differentiator. **Remember, we’re already assuming your prospect is familiar with your competitors.
What Does [Prospects Company] Do - Show you’ve done research and lead with how familiar you are with their company, but keep it vague - let them tell you what they do best. This levels the playing field.
All the above should take at max 5-6 minutes. If you’ve done this right, you’ll both be standing on even ground. You both have qualified your experience, you’ve both done your research before the call, you both talked about what your company does best.
From equal footing, you’re going to take your home run swing. Throw your knockout punch. Pull up your jumpshot.
Why Now? - “In my intro email, I mentioned [what my product does] what made you throw some time on my calendar today?”
The reason this question works is because the only way to answer is with their expectation of how you can help.
You build your entire discovery off this answer.
What if they don’t give you any information?
Then they’re not qualified. Simple as.
This is the process that buyers expect. They want to know:
You’re qualified to help them
You understand the industry
You understand how to solve their problems.
So when you ask them directly, why did you take time to talk to me today? Real buyers will answer with their pain points.
All qualifying questions can come after the initial discovery and alignment that your product can solve a problem.
Where are you in the buying process?
When are you looking to implement this solution?
What does your buying process look like? Who’s involved?
After there’s a verbal agreement that “yeah it sounds like you can help” these questions become process questions, not qualifying questions. That makes a huge difference to the conversation flow.
Traditional sales frameworks focus on being so concerned that we’re “wasting time” on the wrong person that we forget to give the prospect the best buying experience.
I’ll happily take 25 minutes to talk to the “wrong” person over losing a sale to the “right” person because someone else gave them a better buying experience.
Discovery Questions after “Why Now?”
Once you ask “Why now?” and they open the door, here are great follow-up questions to keep the conversation flowing naturally:
Problem Deepening:
“How long has this been a challenge for you?”
“What impact is this having on your team or business right now?”
Priority + Ugency:
“Where does solving this fall on your priority list right now?”
“Is there a specific event or deadline coming up that’s driving urgency?”
“What’s making this a priority today compared to a few months ago?”
Current Solutions / Competitor Context:
“Have you tried anything else to solve this already?”
“What have you looked at so far to address this?”
“Is there anything you’re currently using that you’re hoping to replace or improve?”
Stakeholders + Process:
“Who else on your team is involved in solving this?”
“What does your decision-making process usually look like for something like this?”
“Once you find a solution you like, what are the steps to get it across the finish line?”
Future State / Ideal Outcome:
“If we could fast-forward 6 months and this was completely solved, what would success look like?”
“What would a ‘win’ look like for you personally in getting this fixed?”
Budget:
“Is this something you already have budget carved out for, or would you need to build the case internally?”
Quick Tip:
👉 Don’t treat these like a checklist.
👉 Listen to what they say after the “Why Now?” and choose 2–3 questions that make the most sense based on their answer.
👉 The goal is depth not qualification.
The traditional frameworks taught us to treat every conversation like an interrogation.
The “Why Now?” framework flips the script — it treats every conversation like it’s already an opportunity.
You’re not there to gatekeep information or qualify someone to death.
You’re there to figure out what problem they’re ready to solve today — and show them why you’re the right partner to solve it.
In a world where buyers can find everything they need in seconds, the sellers who win aren’t the ones who check the most boxes.
They’re the ones who make the buying process feel effortless.
The ones who treat their buyers like they already belong.
When you meet a prospect at the moment they’re ready to move, the only thing left to do is help them cross the finish line.
Reply