Being Comfortable with Change
Change isn’t the enemy - surprise is. Watch this video to see how clear, early communication keeps your team engaged and aligned.
Don't forget to check out last week's top tip: Got a Plan B?!
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If you prefer to read - here is the transcript:
Despite what you may have read or listen to, people don't fear change. They don't actually fear change as the end result. They steer the process by which it's going to take in order to make that change. Buyers don't make decisions because they fear that the process to get to that decision or to get to that new solution is going to be painful. What if that solution is hard or more painful than the situation that they have? What if the prescription is worse than the disease?
Selling is all about change. You're either asking a prospect to change how they're doing business today in order to do business with you and, an unknown quantity, or you're asking a customer who does know you to change what they're doing in order to do business with you differently. Selling is more about change management than anything else, and we have to manage that change.
One of the easiest ways that I've seen to do that is to show the customer what happens between when they say yes, and when they're going to be fully implemented and optimized with you. Walk them through the process. Now, some of my clients do that by having preprinted beautiful graphics that they can walk through and leave with the customer. Others of mine, which I like better, have a process that starts with a blank sheet of paper, and they walk through all of the things that have to happen. They handwrite them, they draw boxes, they put dates on them, and they hold that customer accountable for helping to create that change. They show their level of expertise, not because they can walk through a flowchart, but because they can created it on the fly and use contemporary examples of how they've done this in the past.
We're in a risk environment, a high risk environment, and customers aren't going to just do business with you because they think that you might have done this before. They want proof and they want a pathway to success. They want to know that you've done this before and that there are others who have seen success.
And so think about that pathway to change. Don't just say, here you are and here's we're going to get you to. Draw that map for them. Show where they're going to participate and show them, talk to them about the areas of success you've seen.
At the same time, don't be afraid of pointing out where there could be problems or where they could be pinch points and let them know: these are the areas that we see often get in the way of success. Let's talk right now about the things we can do to mitigate it. Showing them that you've actually overcome a problem in getting them to where they want to go, will help them feel at ease about the process of change, and make it more likely that they'll do business with you.