In the dynamic sales world, mastering the art of persuasion is often considered the key to success. But what if I told you that a simple yet incredibly powerful technique can revolutionize your selling approach? This blog post delves into the transformative potential of the three little words: "Do you agree?"

Imagine momentarily that you're about to engage in a sales pitch. You have your spiel prepared, your product or service is top-notch, and you're ready to convince your prospects that they need what you're offering. But what if there was a better way?

Enter Brendan Dell, owner of a seven-figure messaging strategy business, who introduces us to a game-changing concept that has propelled him from rock bottom to the summit of success. It's a technique grounded in science and psychology, yet so simple that it can be implemented instantly and effortlessly.

At its core, this technique revolves around shifting the focus of the sales conversation from persuasion to collaboration. Instead of trying to push your agenda onto the prospect, you invite them to participate actively in the decision-making process by asking, "Do you agree?"

But why is this approach so effective? It all boils down to empowerment. When you ask prospects if they agree, you give them a sense of ownership and agency. They're no longer passive recipients of a sales pitch; they become active participants in shaping their own solutions.

To illustrate the power of this technique, let's consider a scenario in B2B sales. Picture yourself presenting a sales proposal to a potential client. Traditionally, you might have focused on highlighting the merits of your product or service, extolling its virtues and superiority. But the dynamic shifts with the "Do you agree?" approach.

Instead of bombarding the prospect with persuasive arguments, you start by acknowledging the problem they're facing. You listen attentively to their needs and concerns and then reflect on what you've heard. "So you're a widget company competing in a competitive space with very little differentiation between your products.

By pausing and asking those three simple words, you invite the prospect to validate their own challenges and affirm the proposed solution. It becomes a collaborative effort, a shared journey towards achieving mutual goals.

But this technique's brilliance doesn't end there. Its roots run deep into psychology and human behavior. Take, for instance, the concept of self-disclosure, a fundamental component of cognitive behavioral therapy. By acknowledging and accepting one's problems, individuals are more likely to initiate meaningful change.

Similarly, asking prospects if they agree taps into their innate desire for autonomy and self-determination. It's akin to holding open the door and inviting them to step through of their own accord rather than forcibly pushing them through against their will.

Ultimately, great salesmanship is not about coercion or manipulation; it's about genuine connection and mutual benefit. By embracing the "Do you agree?" approach, you empower your prospects to become active participants in their own success stories.

So, the next time you are in a sales conversation, remember the power of those three simple words. They have the potential to transform your sales outcomes, your engagement with clients, and your ability to build lasting relationships.

Who is coming to your funeral?

image credit: http://www.catholicchapterhouse.com

Today, I went to church. I didn’t go because I was excited about the message. I went to church because Mrs. Kate died. Ironically, I’ve been reading Stephen Covey materials, The 7 Habits (google Habit 2).

Ms. Kate was one of my grandmother’s friends from church. She was 83 years old and passed suddenly. Given that I grew up with my grandmother,…

You, Me, and Our Relationship Makes Three #Leadership #Linked2Leadership

A previous post introduced the characteristics of relationship building, which is the foundation to public relations education and practice, and (ideally!) organizational relationships. 

Without a clear focus on people and its human aspects, organizations are doomed to remain stagnant, or even die.

On Relationships

As a refresher, the components of relationship-building are this:

Control…

Fandom: Dragon Age POV: Sebastian Vael

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He had figured it out. He knew why he felt so drawn to Hawke, more than anyone else he had encountered in his entire thirty years alive. He saw himself in her.

She wasn't the third child, of course, but she could never please her mother. She tried and tried, but Leandra Hawke always seemed to favour Bethany or lost Carver over her eldest daughter. Sebastian didn't know what more was expected of Hawke--anything and everything she did was for her family. All he saw from them was bitterness and under-appreciation. He knew those both well enough to recognise them when he saw them in other. But, where he had given up, she continued to live her life for her family. He couldn't do that, even before they were murdered. At least Hawke wasn't selfish, like he was, about it.

More than that, she never let anyone get close to her. He suspected it had to do with so much of her childhood--her entire life, as a matter of fact, until she came to Kirkwall--being spent on the run, or in combat. Don't get to know anyone too much, and it didn't hurt so badly when they died or when you moved on. He learned that from an early age onward, as well. Don't show you cared, tell yourself you don't care, and they can't hurt you any more. He never let himself love any of the women he had over the years--though there were several times he came perilously close--and he always moved on quickly as he could. Hawke had run for her life; he ran from it.

Sebastian saw all her walls every time, because he used the same ones himself. Oh, they had different tactics, different defense mechanisms--where she was sarcastic and witty, he quoted and pretended to be embarrassed.  But, at the root of it all, the walls were the same. The barriers he kept up were all there in her. He knew they were too strong to be taken down by anyone but the person who put them up in the first place.

Fandom: Dragon Age POV: Sebastian Vael

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It was one of the few times he decided to visit her estate, and one of the even fewer times he saw Bodahn, his son Sandal, and Orana were all gone. Faolan, her mabari, was not in his usual place by the fire, either. Furrowing his brow a bit, Sebastian wandered through the foyer into her library, looking for her but not calling out just yet. He had some mild hope in the back of his mind that he'd stumble upon her in the midst of some normal, every-day activity no one ever got to see from her. She wasn't in her library, and Sebastian skimmed his fingers along a shelf of books as he left the expansive room.

Soon, he found himself wandering throughout her estate--he did not intrude upon the empty room of her mother, but he did peek into the spare room that had once been her sister's (mostly because the door was slightly ajar to begin with). When he came upon her bedroom door, however, he worried his bottom lip a moment before knocking gently. No answer came, and he fought a momentary inner battle before easing the door open. A quick glance from side to side over the room told him she wasn't there, though her rumpled bed told him she dismissed Bodahn and Orana early; he didn't think either of them would allow her sheets to remain thus. He resisted the temptation to stride around her room and finger through tidbits of her, decided doing so would be too intruding. Backing out, he closed the door with a soft click and made his way back down the staircase.

Several rooms later, he found his way to the kitchens, long and kept immaculately clean by Orana. The other times he had the chance to be in her estate, wonderful smells had wafted from this room, but today the fires were cold and nothing was cooking. He did detect, however, a fresh warm scent he knew was grass in the sun, and the light fragrance of a dozen different flowers. A quick scan led him to see a slash of light across the floor of the kitchen, and he strode to it, discovering the door to Hawke's garden flung wide open. He heard the faint whuffling of Faolan from outside, and another sound that made his breath hitch and his blood warm in his veins.

Hawke was laughing.