A Yale scientist proved you can move almost anyone to yes in under...
Scott Brooks@scotti_brooks
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Jul 06, 2026
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A Yale scientist proved you can move almost anyone to yes in under 7 minutes by doing the opposite of convincing.
Here are 7 questions that do it:
Here are 7 questions that do it:
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1. "Why might you want to fix this?"
Pantalon's first move flips the whole call.
You don't give them your reasons to buy, you ask for theirs. The second you list benefits, they get to argue.
Pantalon's first move flips the whole call.
You don't give them your reasons to buy, you ask for theirs. The second you list benefits, they get to argue.
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The second they list their own, they start selling themselves. People believe their reasons, not yours.
Ask for their reasons. Never lead with yours.
Ask for their reasons. Never lead with yours.
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2. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you?"
It's an odd question, and that's the point.
Normal questions get autopilot answers.
It's an odd question, and that's the point.
Normal questions get autopilot answers.
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An unusual one makes them stop and actually think. Now they've put a real number on their own interest, out loud, to you.
Make them rate it. The number pulls the truth out.
Make them rate it. The number pulls the truth out.
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3. "Why didn't you pick a lower number?"
This is the one. It feels backwards, and it's the most powerful question in the method. Ask why they didn't go lower and they're forced to say out loud why they're actually interested.
This is the one. It feels backwards, and it's the most powerful question in the method. Ask why they didn't go lower and they're forced to say out loud why they're actually interested.
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Ask why they didn't go higher and they defend the opposite.
Same scale, opposite outcome.
Never ask why not higher. Always ask why not lower.
Same scale, opposite outcome.
Never ask why not higher. Always ask why not lower.
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4. "Imagine it's handled. What's different for you?"
Now you get them to live in the after. Not you painting the picture, them building it.
Now you get them to live in the after. Not you painting the picture, them building it.
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When the buyer describes the win in their own words, it stops being your pitch and becomes their idea.
Let them describe the after. Don't describe it for them.
Let them describe the after. Don't describe it for them.
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5. "Why does that matter to you?"
The quiet closer. Every time they give a reason, you ask why it matters, and they go one layer deeper into their own motivation.
The quiet closer. Every time they give a reason, you ask why it matters, and they go one layer deeper into their own motivation.
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Two or three of these and they've talked themselves from mild interest to something that feels personal.
Follow every reason with "why does that matter."
Follow every reason with "why does that matter."
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7. "What's one small step you could take?"
Not "are you ready to sign." Pantalon ends on the smallest safe move, because a giant ask triggers the flinch and a tiny one gets a yes. And the first small yes is the hardest one to walk back.
End on the step, not the biggest ask.
Not "are you ready to sign." Pantalon ends on the smallest safe move, because a giant ask triggers the flinch and a tiny one gets a yes. And the first small yes is the hardest one to walk back.
End on the step, not the biggest ask.
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Read those back. Not one of them is a pitch. They're just questions that make another person hear their own reasons out loud, which a Yale scientist proved moves people faster than any argument ever will.
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And it's the part no software touches. A tool can send the follow-up and log the call. It cannot sit with a person and quietly walk them to their own yes.
If you've been doing that for years for a number someone else capped, you already own the rare part.
If you've been doing that for years for a number someone else capped, you already own the rare part.
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You've just never aimed it at a room that pays what it's worth.