Tag: convincing

To Push or Not to Push

If someone is about to step in front of a speeding car, then pushing them out of the way will probably have a better outcome than asking them if they want to reconsider.

Asking a friend if they want to go for a walk with you will probably be more effective than saying, “You need to lose weight.”

People push each other all the time.  It’s simple and doesn’t take much thought.  Almost instinctive.  Sometimes, it’s the only thing that will work.  Most of the time though, there are alternatives to pushing, and sometimes those alternatives lead to better outcomes.

Pushing an object increases the probability that the object will move in the direction we are pushing it.  We can count on that.  It works on cattle and sheep as well.  However, people are a lot more complicated.  They don’t like being treated as a thing, or herded like sheep.  They often resist being pushed, even by very subtle methods.  The human paradox is that pushing can decrease the probability that a person will do what we are trying to get them to do.  That can be very frustrating.

To push, or not to push.  The only way to know what works better in any given situation, is to have a very clear picture in mind of what a good outcome looks like, and then to think realistically about how our actions will affect the probability of that kind of outcome.  Not just what we think should happen, but what the odds really are when we think about it.

Giving and Selling Advice, a New Mini-Course on the Basics of High Probability Consulting

The next HPS Mini-Course will be a short webinar session, on Giving and Selling Advice (an Intro to High Probability Consulting), on Thu 27 February 2020 at 10am USA Eastern Time.  39 minutes for $39

This mini-course covers the basics on how to apply the ideas of High Probability Selling when giving or selling advice.  The focus is on the delivery of the advice, after any agreements of sale have already been made.

Whenever someone resists being persuaded to follow your advice, the methods of High Probability Consulting may work better.

The webinar will be led by Carl Ingalls in real-time (live).  Content is mostly audio (speaking), with some video (text, graphics).  The session will be recorded (audio and video), and the recording will be made available to everyone who signs up (and pays for) the mini-course.  The recording of this session may also be offered for sale later.

The webinar platform is GoToMeeting.  If you have not already downloaded and installed the GoToMeeting app on your computer or mobile phone, I strongly recommend that you do so at least 30 minutes before the webinar begins.  And even if you have the app and are already familiar with GoToMeeting, please note that they have changed their user interface quite significantly recently, so I recommend joining the meeting 5 or 10 minutes early.

The price is $39 USD per person.  However, I have 10 introductory discount coupons to give away, each $5 off.  If you want one, please contact me (Carl Ingalls) by phone at +1 610-627-9030 or by email at info@HighProbSell.com (before you click on the purchase link below).

If you want to purchase this HPS Mini-Course on Giving and Selling Advice now, you may use this link:  https://high-probability-selling.myshopify.com/cart/31226966409276:1?channel=buy_button

Future HPS Mini-Courses will appear on the HPS Training Calendar at least a week before they are scheduled.

More info can be found at www.HighProbSell.com/workshops/index.html#minicourses

Frequent Repetition of the Same Sales and Marketing Messages

Salespeople and marketers use a lot of repetition when their intention is to persuade.  They push the same message over and over again, and very frequently.  It makes sense for them.

This does not fit with High Probability Selling.  When prospecting by phone, we use different offers, and we space them apart by 3 to 6 weeks.  This is one way that we demonstrate that we listen, and that we accept no for an answer.  Repeated and frequent messages would not demonstrate that.

So, what about prospecting by email?

The way a prospect says “no” to an offer can vary, depending on how the offer is delivered.  With a live, real-time conversation, we usually get an immediate answer.  With a delayed message (like email or voicemail), a prospect usually says no just by ignoring it and deleting it.  The salesperson often gets no feedback at all, and doesn’t know whether the prospect even saw the message.

When I apply the HPS mindset to leaving a prospecting offer as a message, I treat a No Response the same as an intentional No.  I wait a minimum of 3 weeks (usually longer) before reaching out to the same person again, and I make sure that future offers to that person are memorably different from past ones.  And, while continuing to follow HPS guidelines, I never mention the fact that I had sent any previous messages.

Comments and questions are very welcome.

“Convince Me” – What If a Prospect Wants to be Persuaded?

If someone asks you to tell them why they should buy what you are offering, you have a decision to make.  It’s time to decide if you want to do some persuasive selling, or not.

There are a number of reasons you might want to do this:

  • You might want to go back and try that other way of selling, just to remind yourself of what it tastes like.
  • You might be someone who loves persuading people, and you don’t get enough of that when doing High Probability Selling.  You just need to get it out of your system.
  • You really aren’t sure yet whether you want to do HPS or not, so you do what has worked well enough for you in the past.

If you decide that you do not want to get involved in convincing someone to buy, here is an example of what I would do, based on what I learned from Jacques Werth.

  • Prospect:  Convince me.
  • Me:  I’m not willing to do that.
  • Prospect:  Why not?
  • Me:  That’s not the way I work.
  • Me:  What do you want to do.

This article was prompted by a conversation I overheard recently in the HPS Private Discussion Group on Facebook.

Comments and questions on this post are very welcome.

Resistance to Doing the Trust and Respect Inquiry (TRI)

Resistance is a natural reaction to being pushed.  This is a core concept in High Probability Selling (HPS).

If you feel pushed into buying an idea, it’s just like sales resistance.  The more someone tries to convince you, the more the resistance builds.

That’s the problem with the Trust and Respect Inquiry (TRI).  When people sense that it’s being pushed onto them, they resist it.

So who’s doing the pushing, and why?

The authors of the book High Probability Selling felt very passionately about the TRI.  They really wanted people to benefit from this, and that desire came through in their writing.  Passion about what you are selling can make people feel pressured, and I believe that’s what happened here.

We handle this differently today.  Still passionate, but less pushing, and we offer more choices.  We teach a gradual approach to the TRI, and we don’t make it mandatory.

For more information about the TRI:
You Have to Get Personal
Establishing a Relationship – Revisited

Workshops in Dec 2018:  Chapter 12 Updated on Tue 11 Dec for $95

When Someone is Interested in Something You Sell, What Does That Mean?

It depends on how you want to sell.

If you want to sell by talking someone into buying, “interested” is an opportunity to try to do just that.  Interested doesn’t mean that they are likely to buy from you.  It only means you have someone who will probably listen to you while you talk.

If you want to sell by finding someone who is likely to buy, then “interested” is an opportunity to do some finding out.  Find out what is behind that interest.  It may mean that the interested person is close to making a purchase decision and wants some information, or it may only mean that the interested person wants to be educated.

When I first started learning High Probability Selling, I was taught that “interested” was a poison word, something that salespeople should avoid.  It means that a prospect is not ready to buy, and is likely to waste the salesperson’s time.  I understood immediately what my teachers were talking about.  I happen to be a person who is interested in just about everything, even when I have no interest in buying, and I began to feel some pity for the salesperson who encountered someone like me.

There is no need to avoid the word “interested” as long as you are clear about what it means for the way you choose to sell.  Richard Himmer (one of my other teachers in HPS) made a useful distinction between Interested and Interesting.  In High Probability Selling, the salesperson is the one who is interested, and the prospect is the one who is interesting.  It’s usually the other way around for salespeople who want to try to influence the prospect to buy.

I am very interested in any comments you may have.  You are all very interesting people.

 

How Can I Convince You That Convincing Doesn’t Work?

This is a question that I heard Jacques Werth ask many times, “How can I convince you that convincing doesn’t work?”

In a selling situation, Jacques knew that attempting to convince someone was not a good use of a salesperson’s time.  However, he was usually in a marketing situation when he asked that question, and he passionately wanted salespeople to become more successful.

Now that Jacques is retired, it’s my turn to ask, “How can I convince you that convincing doesn’t work?”

Here are some answers to think about:

  1. I could try to convince you by giving you logical arguments and reasons why you can’t convince someone.
    • Pros:  I’m very comfortable with creating and presenting logical arguments, and I’m good at it.  It works just often enough for me to keep trying.
    • Cons:  It hasn’t worked as well as I think it should.  Too many people resist being argued into a new belief.
  2. I could give you evidence of how other people have become more successful when they stopped trying to convince people.
    • Pros:  Some people can be influenced by evidence.  In this case, the evidence is available and doing this seems logical.
    • Cons:  Many people don’t trust evidence, because it is too often twisted and used to manipulate people’s beliefs.
  3. I could give up the idea of trying to convince you, and focus instead on finding someone who already believes that convincing doesn’t work.
    • Pros:  This is less stressful than trying to change someone’s mind, and can be a lot more effective (when done right).
    • Cons:  Working with people who already believe is tricky.  It is too easy to fall back to old habits, and turn them off by saying something persuasive.  Also, sometimes you don’t have the option of choosing who you are going to work with, and can’t just go find someone else.
  4. I could list some options for you to consider, providing my understanding of the pros and cons for each option, and without trying to steer you in any direction.  I could then ask you what you want to do.
    • Pros:  More people follow my advice when I present it objectively and don’t tell them what to do.
    • Cons:  Presenting advice this way is a lot more work.  It is frustrating to know that it would be so much quicker and easier if I just told you what to think.

What do you think?

Don’t Try to Sell High Probability Selling to Your Boss

by Jacques Werth

Our office manager rang me and said “John Richardson is on line 5.  He took our workshops several months ago and he has a problem.  Can you talk to him now?”

I said, “Sure” and picked up the call.

“What’s the problem, John?”

He said, “Since I did your courses I’ve increased my average monthly sales volume by over forty-percent and it’s still climbing.  So, when I was talking to my sales manger last week I told him that he should have all the salespeople take your workshops.  He told me to describe how High Probability Selling works, so I did.  He listened, took notes, and said he would think about it.”

I said, “I can guess what happened next.”

John said, “He called me today and said that what I’ve been doing can’t possibly work and he wants me to stop immediately.  He insisted that I to go back to using the company’s standard sales process.”

I said, “We always tell salespeople who participate in our workshops that they should never try to convince anyone to use High Probability Selling, and especially not their boss.  Trying to convince people creates resistance.”

He said, “I thought he would love the idea of everyone increasing their sales the way I have.”

I said, “First, it’s not true that all the salespeople will increase their sales – some can’t or won’t.

“More importantly, most sales managers have a big personal investment in having everyone do whatever they believe in.  It’s very hard for them to change, especially if they don’t discover it themselves.  That’s why we ask everyone not to tell their mangers what they’re doing, but wait until they are asked.  Then, you should just say “It’s too complicated for me to explain, but I’ll give you the book if you want to read it.”

He said, “I was so excited about the results I’ve been getting, I forgot all about that.”

 

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