JACK MALCOLM

Month: September 2012

  • Why Would Someone PICK You to Do Business With?

    When I play the part of a buyer in sales call role plays, the salesperson often launches into a recitation of their product’s features and capabilities, which are easily countered by pointing out that their competitors offer the same features, and at a lower price. After they run into several dead-ends, the next tactic is to play the personal card: “Well, you get me as part of the deal.” That’s when I reply with my one-size-fits-all buyer’s question:

    “SO WHAT?”

    When I ask that question, most salespeople don’t have a good answer. They can tell me that they will be accessible and that they will take personal responsibility for my satisfaction, but everyone can tell a buyer that. On the other hand, it’s clear that many buyers will be loyal to a vendor because of the quality of the relationship they have with the salesperson, so it’s actually a pretty good answer—IF the buyer believes it and trusts you to deliver on the promise.

    The trick to making the buyer believe it is not to say it, but to prove it with actions. What should your actions show?

    There are four critical attributes you have to show that will induce buyers to trust you. I first read these attributes in Jerry Acuff’s excellent book, The Relationship Edge: The Key to Strategic Influence and Selling Success. Acuff talks about these, but the acronym and the description of what each one means are my own take, so if you don’t agree, blame me.

    PICK stands for professionalism, integrity, caring, and knowledge.

    Professionalism: Professionalism is the personal stamp of quality that you display in all your interactions with customers. Do you make dealing with you effortless and reliable? Do you follow through on your commitments? Can you get things done within your own organization for your customers? Do you communicate clearly and consistently? Are you punctual and prompt? If you have to speak about your competitors, can do it objectively and fairly?

    Integrity: This one should go without saying, but unfortunately pressure is so often put on salespeople to make this quarter’s number that shades of grey can be rationalized to seem whiter than they are in some cases. People may not always notice when you act with integrity, but they will instantly pick up on it when you don’t. Do you honor your commitments? Would you recommend against your own product if you believe it’s not the right thing for your customer? Are you fair and honest at all times? Do you have the guts to tell your customer when you think they’re wrong? Or your sales manager? Do you address problems squarely and promptly?

    Caring: Reports of the death of relationship selling are exaggerated. Sales transactions are just as much a social exchange as an economic one, and everyone responds to a personal connection. Do you make buyers feel that they are more than a number that goes toward your quota? Will you take active responsibility to ensure they get the results you promise? Do you follow up to ensure that your customer is satisfied and happy?

    Knowledge: Although I just said that relationship selling is important, you still have to bring real business value to your customers, and value comes from bringing fresh insights that help them get faster, better, or cheaper in some way.  Do you bring new ideas to improve the customer’s business? Do you know how to connect your solution to profits, processes and problems? Do you know how to make your customers succeed personally?

    If you can consistently demonstrate the values of professionalism, integrity, caring and knowledge in all your dealings with customers and prospects, the customer’s “So what?” questions will be easy to answer. More importantly, it will probably never be asked.

  • A Rhetoric Lesson in an Unlikely Place

    When the famous Greek orator Demosthenes was asked what was the most important aspect of rhetoric, he replied, “Delivery, delivery, delivery.”

    That’s a sentiment that I would not normally agree with. While I certainly believe that delivery is important, I’ve always stressed that strong content backed by appropriate evidence is absolutely the most important aspect of any persuasive presentation. If you don’t have solid content the best delivery in the world won’t make you persuasive.

    But I received an unexpected education in practical eloquence this afternoon in the unlikeliest place. I was just getting out of my vehicle at the gas station when a man approached. I knew right away that he was going to ask for money and I prepared to give him the cold shoulder. But his opening line took me by surprise: “Excuse me sir, I’m sorry to intrude on your privacy.” He then proceeded to go into one of the familiar stories about a lady with a baby in the parking lot next door who did not have money for gas. That’s usually when I tell them I can’t help them, but his manner and vocabulary captivated me. He was so courtly and articulate that—as a person who values eloquence and verbal artistry—I just enjoyed listening to his pitch.

    I decided to give him a few bucks but found that I only had twenties in my wallet. Being of Scottish descent, I may value eloquence but not to the tune of $20, so I told him I didn’t have change. I wish I could remember his exact words, but his reply was so good that I actually went into the convenience store and bought a candy bar so I could make change!

    As I drove away, it occurred to me that I had just met a true artist, a real master of delivery. I knew his story was bogus, but I felt good about the few bucks I gave him. It’s like a magic trick: you know it’s not real but you appreciate what you’ve seen.

    I wonder if I could go back and find the guy? Maybe he can write a blog post for me.

  • Make Them Think

    “I know what I was feelin’, but what was I thinkin’?”

    Dierks Bentley

     

    Is thinking going out of style? It seems by what is being written about presentations and persuasive communication in general today, that the answer is yes. We’re told that we have to appeal to the emotional brain, that EQ is more important than IQ, that stories are all that matter in persuasion. One of the top-selling persuasion books is Robert Cialdini’s Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion . I actually have a love-hate relationship with that book; I love it because it’s filled with excellent research and easy-to-follow principles for increasing your personal influence; I hate it because it reduces persuasion to the manipulation of cues[1] that people automatically respond to.

    The technical terms are central versus peripheral processing. When a car ad shows a beautiful model, that’s a peripheral argument; when it touts fuel efficiency, that’s a central argument; when it shows a cute baby in a child seat and explains a list of safety features, that’s a combination of the two.

    I’m not advocating one way as being better than another in all situations. Our thinking processes are complicated, messy, and incompletely understood. Besides, people differ in their “need for cognition.” Some people like to think deeply, carefully and analytically about things before deciding, and others like to trust their gut. This is not about intelligence: sometimes those with higher IQs are the least likely to need cognition.

    But, in business persuasion, in which you’re trying to influence the behavior of a reasonably well-educated adult, approaches that focus primarily on emotional engagement can sometimes be insulting to the intelligence of your audience, and on some occasions are even dishonest. (If you can’t convince them with logic, but you can tug at their heartstrings, maybe you shouldn’t be trying to convince them of it in the first place.) The other problem with emotional arguments and cues is that emotions wear off. Have you ever made an impulse buy, only to wonder a few days later what the hell you were thinking? A decision or impression made under the sway of a compelling presentation may be difficult to explain a week or two later, when a committee gets together to make a decision. In addition, as Steve Booth-Butterfield tells us, “Change achieved through the central route is more persistent over time, more resistant to counter-arguments, and more predictive of future behavior than change from the peripheral route.” It makes sense: minds changed on a whim can be just as easily changed back.

    In many situations, people do make decisions largely on their unconscious response to cues that they might or might not be aware of, and then justify them with logical reasons later on. If they’re already on your side, or if what you are trying to sell lines up with one or more of Cialdini’s cues, and if they’re going to make a decision right then, there’s probably no reason to get them thinking too much.

    But usually when you’re trying to persuade someone about something important, you’re trying to effect change, which means that you have to change the thinking that led to the current situation. Before you can change thinking, you have to engage thinking. Everyone will think deeply when they have a good reason to. Here are some ways:

    Make it personally relevant. Even people who have a low need for cognition will take the time to consider logical arguments if it is personally relevant to them. If you’re making a presentation, you must analyze your audience in retail not wholesale. Even if the business need is the same, everyone in the room has a different personal stake in the outcome, and if you address it early in the presentation you stand a good chance of having an engaged and thoughtful listener.

    Ask questions. One of the surest ways to know that you’ve made someone think carefully is when the say “good question”, and then pause to search for a quality answer; even better is when they don’t know the answer, and realize it’s important. A question that shows that you have researched their situation or that you have specialized knowledge has the added benefit of building your credibility. Questions are also a non-threatening way to get them to change their perspective. For example, those of us who sell training are always dealing with the understandable demand by potential buyers to cut corners in the time it takes to run a class. My friend Gary has an excellent response when asked if he can take a day off the course length: “Do you want me to teach it, or do you want them to learn it?”

    Break a pattern. It’s easy to stay on mental autopilot when everything is going as expected. If you want them to engage their thinking processes, you sometimes have to break a pattern. Give them new information, use humor, etc. One of the best ways to break expectations is to use humor to change their perspective. The essence of humor is surprise, by getting people to see a side of the issue that they never would have thought of, but which seems obvious when pointed out.

    Make it easier for them. This is not about dumbing down something, but sometimes you have to take the time to clarify a complex idea for others. Strip out the jargon and the unnecessary detail, and build off something they already know. Analogies are very helpful for this.

    Make it safe to open their minds. If you immediately launch into an attack on their point of view, they will probably shut down immediately. Acknowledge their position, and show that you understand why they think that way. In this way, you can earn the right to be heard.

     

    [1] Cialdini’s six cues are: Reciprocity, likeability, consistency, authority, social proof, and scarcity.

  • Courage in Communication

    One of the best aspects of writing a blog is receiving a thoughtful comment from a reader. In today’s busy world, it’s a tremendous compliment to know that someone has taken the time to express their thoughts in response to a post. One such example was an email I received from Mason Jackson.

    Mason, who as my former tae kwon do sensei has taught me so much, reminded me that a huge component of communication is courage: “Courage to ask questions.  Courage to speak up. Courage to do the right thing even though the consequences are onerous or even potentially onerous. “

    Mason is absolutely right, and I’d like to expand on his comments in this article.

    Leaders show courage in communication when they jeopardize their own position to communicate what they think is right. Lyndon Johnson had a lifelong dream of becoming President. When he finally reached it through the worst possible circumstances, he might have been forgiven for playing it safe. Instead, just four days later he embarked on an ambitious program to push through long-delayed civil rights legislation. When advisers counseled against risking so much on a lost cause, he replied: “Well, what the hell’s the presidency for?”

    Andrew Jackson said “one man with courage makes a majority”, and I would like to rephrase that by saying that one person with courage makes a leader. In fact, the courage to speak up when on one else will, makes you a leader no matter what title you hold, and if you keep quiet through fear, you’re not a leader, no matter how exalted your position.

    One vivid example of courage was personally witnessed by my mother and three sisters on a visit to Cuba to see the Pope earlier this year. As they were waiting for the Pope to arrive in Santiago, a man suddenly sprang up and began shouting “Libertad!”, and “Down with communism!” He was immediately jumped on by plainclothes police and severely beaten as he was hustled away—but not before news cameras captured the entire scene. Was it a futile gesture? Maybe—but 2011 also showed us that one man in Tunisia could spark an entire Arab Spring.

    Fortunately we don’t live in a society where we have to make such dangerous choices in our personal communications, but daily life in business provides plenty of opportunities to make choices that may require courage in communicating:

    • A salesperson may have to make the choice to tell a customer they’re not always right even at the risk of losing a sale. Perhaps an even more courageous choice is telling the customer that a competitor’s solution is better for them.
    • A manager may have to say unpleasant truths to a subordinate or a superior, for the good of the company, or may have to speak out against an unfair policy.
    • Anyone who gets up in front of a group to speak despite having severe stage fright is showing courage, as is the person who stands his or her ground under tough questioning afterwards.
    • Courage in communication goes beyond speaking. As Churchill said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

    The practical benefits of communicating with courage

    Communicating with courage is the right thing to do, but obviously it carries great risks. Fortunately there are practical benefits which can improve the risk/reward calculation.

    • It will definitely get you noticed. People will pay attention to your words, if only to see what happens next. Besides, saying something that others won’t means your message will be different.
    • It makes you credible. Ethos is the most important of the three components of persuasion, according to Aristotle. Two major facets of ethos are your perceived personal qualities (your virtues, to use a word that’s sadly gone out of style), and your motives.  Courage is still seen as one of the most important and impressive personal qualities, and the fact that you have something to lose, speaks well of your motives.
    • It can prevent bigger risks down the road. So many problems start out small, and only fester into major issues because people may not have the courage to deal with them early. Most communication issues don’t get smaller by being ignored—run to the problem and fix it before it gets out of hand.

    …but there is a price

    Of course, it would not take courage if there were only upsides. The reality is that in the majority of cases you will pay a price. The only job I was ever fired from was because I refused to lie. In 1991, I was in charge of the management training program at our bank, which had gotten itself into serious financial trouble through poor lending practices. We had 53 trainees who were expecting to move into their first management positions after graduating from the program, but my boss told me the bank could only afford to keep two or three. He also told me to keep it quiet, because he wanted everyone to stick around so that the bank could pick from the best.  I didn’t think that was right, so later that day, in response to a direct question, I told them the truth. I was fired the next day.

    I guess the moral of that story is that I definitely paid a short term price for speaking out. On the other hand, it got me out of a dishonest organization and into my present career, so the long run effect was positive, even if it didn’t seem so at the time.