Posted in Art of conversation on May 9th, 2012
When was the last time you had a great conversation? What did it feel like? How long did it take before it dawned on you that ‘this is a great conversation I’m in‘? One of the least explored and underrated aspects of life and business is the conversation. It gives us the same richness of experience that we find in literature, movies, family vacations, delighting clients and the feeling we get when a well thought-out plan comes together.
Great conversations live in the realm of ideas, not events or personalities. Great conversations answer the questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’ not ‘what, where, or when.’ It is in the how and why that insights are formed and lessons are learned. There’s the feeling of connecting with someone that goes beyond the usual “how are things?” Just like a great book or movie, you walk away thinking ‘I wish this weren’t ending…‘ and that is because you become part of the action or drama. You are not just experiencing things on an intellectual level (‘Yes, this plot is very good. The characters are believable’) but you are feeling it (‘Oh man, I can’t believe this is happening!’).
In one of my MBA courses at Chicago Booth, I teach the concept of asking “high-gain questions.” These are questions that cause the client to think and reflect, not just react and thus the information “gained” is much more valuable to the salesperson. Same with conversation. The better questions we ask, the more insights we gain.
How do you know you’ve just been in a great conversation? Or in business terms, what are the “outcomes.” You feel like you’ve learned something you didn’t know, or at least gained a valuable perspective. You feel a reciprocal respect for your partner. You are looking forward to sharing an insight with the next person you come across.
Image property of the New York Times
In thinking about the art or skill of conversation, how does technology impact your ability to actually converse as opposed to just connect? This topic is not a new one. There have been countless articles and studies published in recent years that name technology as the culprit in struggling family relationships and the changing landscape of sales, among other situations. The New York Times published a thought-provoking Opinion piece in late April that took one step beyond past articles on the subject by encouraging readers to think about why technology might hinder conversation and what they can do about it in their own lives. Sherry Turkle, the author of the piece, writes, “There we are so busy communicating that we often don’t have time to talk to one another about what really matters”. Within a sales context, how can you connect with a prospect if you have not trained yourself to quiet the distraction and actually listen to what they want or need?
Engaging in a meaningful conversation that goes beyond the “what, where or when” requires the discipline to listen and converse (not just connect).
Posted in Art of conversation, Discipline, Qualifying, Re-setting expectations, Sales, Toolkit on May 1st, 2012
Ever had a “groundhog day” sales meeting? You walk away thinking; “Damn, we already had this meeting…we haven’t moved forward. Same old stuff.” We have all made this mistake. Part of it is just plain preparation and being clear on the agenda. But that’s not all. There are two tactics that high-performing sales professionals use consistently; the purpose, benefit, check and pivots. The purpose, benefit, check is the way EVERY sales meeting should open:
“The purpose of our meeting today is to discuss your sales toolkit and how it supports your sales process.
I think this will provide you with a strong sense of how the toolkit could be enhanced to strengthen the sales team (benefit).
How does that sound (check)?
The “PBC” gives you three critical things: aligns your prospect’s expectations with your own, demonstrates that you are prepared and organized, and shows respect for your prospect’s time.
It also points your body down the hill. (What does that mean?) In giant slalom skiing, the racers fly through the gates at high speed. But if you watch them closely, you will notice that their bodies are pointed at the finish line, even as they are subtly shifting their weight to pivot around the next gate. Just like high-performing sales people, skiers know they have to hit all of the gates. They know they can’t miss even one. And they know they have to do this as fast as they possibly can.
Pivots are the same. As mentioned in previous posts, pivots are the transitions you make in a sales meeting to ensure that you are tackling your own objectives. If it is a qualifying conversation (is there any other type?), you are pivoting from budget to timeline, from timeline to decision-makers, and so on. In my experience, sales professionals can make 3 to 4 clean pivots in a sales meeting, and when they do, they walk out having significantly moved the situation forward.
Every sales meeting should be going somewhere. You determine where you want it to go and then you set the course (PBC), pivoting through the gates to get there. As fast as you can.
Have you used “purpose, benefit, check” in a sales meeting? How did it go? Was the meeting more effective because you initiated this process? Let us know via Twitter! (You can also follow Sales Engine CEO, Craig Wortmann, directly!)
Posted in Art of conversation, Observations & Intersections on July 5th, 2011
In her recent book called “Resonance,” Nancy Duarte talks about how according to the laws of physics, resonance “occurs when an object’s natural vibration frequency responds to an external stimulus of the same frequency.” She goes on to describe how running sound waves through a plate of salt causes the grains of salt to create beautiful and varying patterns as the frequency of the waves changes, almost as if the grains “know” how to arrange themselves.
This has a lot to do with something leaders and sales people must do to be high-performers. You must “tune” your approach to your audience. You are creating the sound waves, and your audience is the salt. If you selling, marketing or leading people, you are essentially trying to get into the right frequency with your intended audience. This is not done in a manipulative way but in a way that meets them where they are and takes them to a new place or, just as the salt does, re-arranges their priorities or decisions. But if your frequency is jarring (or boring), your salt will bounce right off the plate and you will not engage your audience in a conversation that can go somewhere.
So how do you find the right frequency? Knowing your audience is a start, but once engaged in a conversation – whether live or ‘mediated by media’ – you must quickly establish a give and take in order to find the right frequency. This is tricky, because it means quickly finding the balance between content (you) and questions (them). Too often, leaders and sales people tell when we should be asking. If we can relax into a great set of questions, often we will find that resonance we’ve been searching for.
Posted in Art of conversation, Qualifying, Sales, Toolkit on April 20th, 2011
Ever had a “groundhog day” sales meeting? You walk away thinking; “Damn, we already had this meeting…we haven’t moved forward. Same old stuff.” We have all made this mistake. Part of it is just plain preparation and being clear on the agenda. But that’s not all. There are two tactics that high-performing sales professionals use consistently; the purpose, benefit, check and pivots.
The purpose, benefit, check is the way EVERY sales meeting should open. “The purpose of our meeting today is to discuss your sales toolkit and how it supports your sales process. I think this will provide you with a strong sense of how the toolkit could be enhanced to strengthen the sales team (benefit). How does that sound (check)? The PBC gives you three critical things; aligns your prospect’s expectations with your own, demonstrates that you are prepared and organized, and shows respect for your prospect’s time.
It also points your body down the hill. Wha? In giant slalom skiing, the racers fly through the gates at high speed. But if you watch them closely, you will notice that their bodies are pointed at the finish line, even as they are subtly shifting their weight to pivot around the next gate. Just like high-performing sales people, skiers know they have to hit all of the gates. They know they can’t miss even one. And they know they have to do this as fast as they possibly can.
Pivots are the same. As mentioned in previous posts, pivots are the transitions you make in a sales meeting to ensure that you are tackling YOUR objectives. If it’s a qualifying conversation (is there any other type?), you are pivoting from budget to timeline, from timeline to decision-makers, and on. In my experience, sales pro’s can make three to four good, clean pivots in a sales meeting, and when they do, they walk out having significantly moved the situation forward.
Every sales meeting should be going somewhere. You determine where, and then you set the course (PBC) and pivot through the gates to get there. As fast as you can. Break a leg.
Posted in Art of conversation, Toolkit on April 4th, 2011
I’ve been coaching my neighborhood little league baseball team for seven years now, and watching these kids develop their skills is striking on a bunch of levels. Every Spring they seem to be a foot taller and have somehow developed more skill during their winter hibernation.
One of the most noticeable skill advances this season has been how well our players “pivot.” Pivoting means to quickly and fluidly transition from a grounder to a good throw to first. Or from batting to running. Or from the many mental calculations required by baseball’s defense to just acting in the moment. It strikes me that salespeople are making these very same mental calculations. I always say to my clients and students; Selling is a constant balance between “push” and “pull,” meaning that as you are listening (pulling) in a sales conversation, you are also figuring out where to go next (pushing). You pivot from one subject to another, from qualification to determining fit, from proposing to closing.
These pivots are one of the keys to successful selling. Every hour of conversation with a prospect has a number of pivots, depending on your goals. Are you thinking these through in advance of your conversations? My short-stop is.
Posted in Art of conversation, Story on January 2nd, 2011
In most Japanese gardens, you will find something called a zig zag bridge. It is often made up of two slabs of granite laid end to end. But, the two slabs are only touching at one corner like the black and white squares on a checkerboard. The zig zag bridge is meant to slow you down to take in the beauty that’s around you. Said another way, it’s purpose is to force you into the present.
In my book (What’s Your Story?), I compared the power of the zig zag bridge to the power of stories. When we tell our stories, whether in a business context or in our wider lives, people become present to the story. It allows all parties to slow down, ever so slightly, and grasp the context of what’s being communicated in a way that bullet points never can. We can float above the noise for a few beats and gain a better understanding of a situation, a challenge or an opportunity. This makes a huge difference, and it’s why I’ve been trying to promote stories (and telling) over the past few years.
Recently, I interviewed Jason Fried of 37signals for a Chicago Booth group, and he made another analogy to a Japanese garden (among many other wise things he shared). He said that entrepreneurship is like tending a Japanese garden. In neither endeavor are you successful right off the bat. Cultivation of gardens – and skills – takes time and tons of consistent hard effort. I couldn’t agree more and I would only add that if we cultivate our stories alongside our skills that we will have something very beautiful indeed.
Posted in Art of conversation on November 2nd, 2010
My favorite parable: “Truth, naked and cold, knocked on every door of the village. Her nakedness frightened the villagers, and she was turned away. When Parable found Truth, she was huddled in the back of an alley, shivering…hungry. Parable took pity on Truth and took her home and warmed Truth by her fire. There by the fire, Parable fed Truth and dressed her in Story. Dressed in Story, Truth went back out into the village and was welcomed into everyone’s home.”
Those of us who operate in the world of business must realize the we will better connect ourselves to clients and our organizations to opportunities when we tell stories that give color and context to our work. At the core of what we do lay the facts. But facts are just the medicine – the core “truth” – that makes things work. The stories that we build around these core truths are what causes action.
We don’t go to the movies to see “OVERCOME YOUR FEAR. BE FRIENDS WITH THOSE WHO LOOK DIFFERENT FROM YOU. LOVE EACH OTHER” in bold letters on the big screen. These are just the ‘facts’ of the movie. We go to the movies to experience a multi-layered story that connects us to a struggle that feels familiar, stretches us to see different perspectives, and shows us what’s possible.
Our most critical job as professionals is to understand the core “truth” of what we do, and then work hard to search out and tell the stories that make it real for people. Show people the journey, not just what you found when you got there. If you do, they will go with you. If you don’t, you’ll go alone.
Posted in Art of conversation, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Power of Story, Sales, Social Media, Teaching on December 19th, 2009
If “google” can become an action verb, why can’t “story?” After all, the word “story” comes from the Latin “historia” which means “narration of what is learned” which sure seems like an action to me. I hereby nominate story as an action verb! So go story..
Posted in Art of conversation, Entrepreneurship, Sales on November 17th, 2009
As sales professionals and entrepreneurs get better and better at what they do, they talk…less. They listen more. Why? It’s somewhat counter-intuitive, because the more you know the more you should share, right? No. The more experience you have, the more comfortable you get with silence.
In a sales conversation, clients can be absent or present during silence. Experienced salespeople use their experience with body language and facial expression to determine if the client is absent or present during that silence. If absent, a great sales person will ask a high-gain question to bring the client back into the conversation. The skill of “bringing people back to conversation” is increasing in importance as we all constantly get pulled away by the next shiny object. If present, a great sales person will find her “zen.” She will relax into the silence and build a bond more powerful than any features and benefits could possibly offer.
