Clarity

In chapter six of Pink’s book, he talks about the idea of clarity and its role as the “C” in the new ABCs of sales (along with attunement and buoyancy). He defines it as the capacity to help others see their situations in fresh and more revealing ways and to identify problems they didn’t realize they had. A good characteristic to have to help people see with clarity is creativity. Creativity helps us to find problems, ask good questions, and curate information during our internet research. Pink goes on to describe 5 frames of thinking to help provide more clarity to ourselves or others. First, we have the less frame- less is often better. Second, we have the experience frame- material purchases are often less satisfying in the long run than experiential purchases. Third, we have the label frame- changing the label of something often changes the outcome (changing something so that it has a positive label often has more positive outcomes). Fourth, we have the blemished frame- a minor negative factor can actually increase buying when the buyer is distracted and when the negative follows the positive. Fifth and finally we have the potential frame- something with potential is often seen as more interesting than something that is a completed accomplishment. I thought these five frames were very interesting because I can see how each one plays a role in everyday life and how they fit into our earlier discussions of sales as well. A few of examples of this include the following. We have talked about how the seller needs to cut back on the amount of information that they throw at the consumer at first because it can overwhelm them. This is very similar to the less is better framework. I think a connection can be made between the idea of “features tell, benefits sell” and the experience frame because a customer is more likely to buy when they feel the product is going to make their overall experience better. Finally, I think the label frame and labeling things with a more positive twist relates to our discussion of positivity with buoyancy. As well as being applicable to the sales world, I think we should all strive to provide clarity for people as much as possible in our day to day lives.