ARTISTIC MANAGEMENT

Stephen Schiffman, the renowned sales-trainer suggests a very simple technique to enhance your chances of getting an appointment with a prospective client.

According to Schiffman, most salesmen call up their prospects and ask: "Can we meet up sometime”?

Instead, Schiffman recommends asking the prospect something on the lines of: "Can we meet up on Tuesday at 3 PM"?

Schiffman claims, and it has been proved, that this approach does end up getting many more appointments with a prospective client.

What is the difference in the two approaches?

The difference is in the problem that we are trying to solve in each case.

In the first case, the point being negotiated is whether a meeting is possible or not. A "No" in this case is a "No" to the possibility of a meeting at all and nothing can be done without getting nasty (just as most bank representatives respond to a "No" with "Why Sir?").

In the second case, the point of negotiation shifts to the exact time of meeting. At some level, it is guaranteed that a meeting is going to take place; the only question is: When? A "No" to this question leaves open the possibility to re-negotiate a new time.

As you may guess—this is what most salespeople using this technique experience—they get an appointment at a different date/time.

This is a huge determinant in how well we are able to solve problems. What is the problem that you are trying to solve?

If there is a difference between the problem that we want to solve, and the problem that we are trying to solve, what are the chances you will ever get a solution that works?

This is the most common reason we struggle with our problems—most of the time we are solving a wrong problem, a much weaker problem or a completely irrelevant problem.

How do you figure out what is the problem that you are trying to solve?

It is very simple.

Look at the language you use to describe your problems.

Look at the questions you are asking yourself.

Look at the questions you are asking others.

If you are able to distinguish that the problem you are trying to solve is the problem that you want to solve, you have solved half the problem.

If you find a lot of stress and struggle at your work place—it is a good opportunity to take a step back, wake up and ask yourself—am I solving the right problems?

The moment you identify your problems correctly, the solution would become extremely obvious.

Would you like to master the ability to nail a problem straightaway and get the solution with ease?

Trainer or Trainee?? Choose your role!

A renowned trainer recounts the earlier days of his training career when he had to wrestle with some basic beliefs that he had about himself as a trainer.

"Do I really deserve to be training this”?

"Do I myself know this well enough to be training this”?

These were some of the many questions that he used to constantly fight with himself.

The miracle came the day when he shifted his perspective about his role as a trainer.

"I do not have to be an expert in that subject to train. I don’t have to know everything about what I am training. Instead of being the trainer, I would try to be the best student of my training class".

This changed the quality of his training forever. Now, he didn’t have the pressure to be the best. He wasn’t expected to know everything. He was there—exploring, along with the entire class—the skills he was training on and he was there trying to learn the same skills in the best possible manner.

The attitude of exploration is a very powerful anti-dote to many problems that one faces during interaction with people (and, of course, to problem-solving in general).

The next newsletter will show you how this attitude of exploration can help you to get anybody aligned to you—every single time.

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."