by Jacques Werth and Carl Ingalls
This is an overview of the things we Believe In, the fundamental beliefs at the core of High Probability Selling, the things we stand for. Our best customers are the people who share our deepest beliefs.
- Everyone deserves dignity and self-respect.
- Honesty really is the best policy. It is the most reliable strategy for real success. People who believe this strongly enough make it true.
- There is abundance in the world, and you will find it if you know how to look.
- Authenticity is about being what you believe in, not merely acting it out.
- Success comes from providing value. We define value as what other people want.
- Observation overrules logic. An idea does not have to be logical to be true. Sometimes the things that work best don’t make sense at first.
- It’s not magic. Ordinary people can learn and copy what the most successful people do. No special mysterious talents are required.
We thank Simon Sinek for his TED talk on How great leaders inspire action, which inspired us to feature “What We Believe In” as a category in this blog.
Jacques Werth and Carl Ingalls
Author
I really liked this post. I am really passionate about what HPS stands for and I feel this did a good job summing it up. Thanks for putting in the time and effort to do so.
Charles,
We hope to post a series of short articles on the individual topics of What We Believe In. We welcome any suggestions you may have, and we also welcome guest posts. Thank your for your comment.
Carl Ingalls
Thanks for the post and the link, and I believe in HPS. Thank you Jacques!
I believe in the HPS principles too…I find my biggest challenge is saying what I’m really thinking…my tendency is to hold back if I think it will hurt and/or offend someone.
Robert,
Most prospects want to do business with people they trust and respect. When you strive to be straight, honest and forthright they respect you.
When you “hold back,” and do not say what you really think, people perceive you to be timid or even sly. That diminishes their respect for you.
Jacques
What is missing here is: we are taught to be polite to others…and not share our ‘honest’ opinions….especially if they’re negative. This works socially…its how you ‘play well’ with others, but I recognize all the same social rules may not apply in business relationships…or at least in the selling process.
‘Its business. Its not personal.’
Rob
Rob,
Yes, “we are taught to be polite to others…and not share our ‘honest’ opinions….especially if they’re negative.” But, only some of us are taught that.
In my extended family we were taught to be polite and share our honest opinions, including the negatives, with courtesy, tact and respect.
You and I have spoken and emailed many times. Have you been hurt or offended yet?
Jacques
I’ve enjoyed our conversations very much, Jacques. But I’m more and more convinced that with human nature being what it is…in almost every type of relationship…each person(s) is pursuing a goal to their own advantage…and willing to do so to the DISADVANTAGE of the other(s).
Thus people don’t seek to respect others; rather, they want to use them to get what they want.
R.
Hello Robert,
You will be far more successful in business and in life if you can learn to seek out and do business only with people who do NOT fit the description in your last comment. Look for people who prefer win/win transactions and relationships instead. It won’t be easy. In order to see them, you have to be like them, for real.
Forgive me for jumping in on your conversation with Jacques.
Carl Ingalls
No worries, Carl. I like the discussion. Its funny…but it seems to me…the sales process is by definition (or default)an adversarial relationship. Customers seek the ‘best’ deal…and companies seek higher profits. If this is true, than it seems to create a winner/loser effect.
R.
Robert,
There are a lot of people who believe as you do that “the sales process is by definition (or default) an adversarial relationship.” Unfortunately, this belief gets in the way of learning and practicing High Probability Selling. The people who believe this strongly usually don’t benefit from our training.
Success with High Probability Selling requires an entirely different worldview than the one you describe. Part of this worldview is summarized in our blog post titled “What We Believe In – An Intro”.
Carl Ingalls
Robert,
Your view of people and human nature implies that every one is the same. Generalizations about “people” are almost never true. For example: Do you fit your own description of people and human nature?
Each person is a unique individual. We choose to do business only with people we trust and respect. Almost 90% of our prospects fit that description.
You implied you are afraid to ask the tough questions necessary to determine whether people are trustworthy. Thus, it probably has resulted in your being taken advantage by people who are NOT trustworthy.
I don’t anymore-Jacques. But I was a bullying type. I had to learn NOT to act that way. HPS helped me recognize this behavior in myself…thus I believe I’ve benefited and the people close to me have as well. So are there ‘reformed’ others like me…fair point. But I think it is uncommon.
Thank you for that video of Simon. I liked it so much I bought his book. My question for you is. Simon talks about “Starting with why” creating the why for your product or service. But with high prob, it seems we don’t really care about creating the WHY, we just want to find people that have their own why, and want what we are selling. Thoughts??
This is what I have felt so far but I still see VALUE in having my “why” clearly defined.
Asta – It makes a big difference on whose “Why” we are defining. Simon Sinek talks about defining our own Why, and we are in complete agreement with that. It’s only when we try to define someone else’s Why that we step outside of High Probability Selling. – Carl Ingalls
Carl O.,
Yes, the “Why” is an important component of buying decisions. It can be efficiently communicated by marketing and by information overload.
It is not at all efficient for salespeople to educate the market. Their function is to find and interact with the prospects that know the why, have the want, and are ready willing and able to buy.
Jacques
I think people make personal decisions most of the time on their emotions or intuition. Afterward, they build their case for the decision – their reasons – and they enroll a committees of other people who agree with their decision. They can’t always put their finger on the “why” before they buy, but afterward, they can tell you lots of reasons “why” they did it.
Steve, I agree.
Most of the time it happens the way you described. However, sometimes it doesn’t.
The salesperson has a choice of connecting emotionally or convincing with logic.
It is very difficult to do both.
Which is the way we are supposed to work? Connecting emotionally – not convincing with logic?
Asta – The methods of High Probability Selling are based on connecting and listening. No convincing. Other sales methods are based on convincing. These are completely opposite approaches, and they don’t mix. – Carl Ingalls
The How We Inspire video from TED was compelling.
If we focus on the Why, then HPS allows us to:
-Be true to ourselves
-Be kind
-Be thoughtful
-Be honest
-Be who we know we should be
HPS would allow current salespeople to sell the way they Would if they Could. But many can’t make the change.
Perhaps the biggest potential market is people who are not sales people, but people who have the intention of serving others. Maybe sales is only a single segment. Maybe it has its highest and best use in charities and groups that help others. Just a thought.
OK, this is what you believe. Simon still wants to know WHY?
Why? Because it works. It is based on experience.
Budda (and a few others) discovered the Holy Grail answer for all “why” questions.
Q: Why do you believe it?
A: You believe it because you believe it.
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: The sky is blue because the sky is blue.
This tends to shortcut many pointless conversations. Why is this kind of conversation pointless? It is pointless because it is pointless.
Chris,
What sort of a “why” answer are you looking for? Do you mean the Simon Sinek sort of Why, which is about what drives us? Do you mean the justification sort of why, some logical reasoning designed to convince someone? Do you mean a why of understanding, so that we can get what’s going on in the World? Or do you just need something to make the unbelievable a little bit easier to believe?
I might be able to help with one or two of these.
Carl Ingalls