What struck me most about Coach DiDonato’s talk last week was his point that objections are actually great opportunities to sell. By framing objections positively, rather than ignoring or downplaying them, salespeople connect with potential customers on a deep level. I think that this concept has significant implications for the way we manage our thoughts about undesirable tasks in our daily lives.
I believe that as I grew up, my parents used non-sales selling to teach me certain values and good habits. For instance, I often complained about not wanting to do my homework. My parents could have easily downplayed my objections by saying something like, “homework is never fun, but just get through it – it will only take an hour.” Instead, they positively overcame my objections. My dad would frame tasks that I deemed unpleasant in a positive light, saying things such as, “even from the most boring homework, you can learn something important. I know you don’t want to write that paper, but every sentence you write is practice, a learning experience preparing you for something great that you will want to write in the future.”
Although they didn’t know they were doing so, my parents utilized one of the most important sales techniques to teach me how to motivate myself to accomplish any type of task. I am so grateful for this experience because I still use this mindset on a daily basis to overcome my own objections. It’s even helped me battle my natural tendency toward pessimism. I believe overcoming unhelpful attitudes and thoughts is one of the most empowering and motivating experiences a person can have. It helps us achieve almost anything we put our minds to, and I’m sure it has a positive impact on our perceptions of our own abilities and even our self-confidence.
BoweryJE22
Another great thing he did was selling by telling a story. Every time he went to say how he would sell something he would draw the “buyer” in with a story, then use that story to explain how the “product” can fit the customers want. (not need.)
I agree with what you men about playing objections in a positive light and making them the best selling points. I also had my dad tell me similar things whether it came to school, working out, and general attitude. It really shows that selling a product has a lot to do with both relationship and attitude because you have to know the deeper level of the client to really put the objection into the most positive light you can.
Dido is a great salesmen and I really saw this come out in the recruiting process, he lives out his sales funnel as a coach as well and it clearly works. I thought it was crazy when he called out Max and told us his high school, his position, and his major. This shows you that Dido really did his background work on his prospect and this shows he cares about those that he is pitching to.
When I was growing up I too had to overcome my objections for doing things such as homework. My parents would also use non-sales selling in order to try to get me to understand why it was important. I plan on using these techniques throughout my life in order to sell myself and my ideas. I do believe that at some point in anyone’s life they will have to sell something, whether it is an object, an idea, or themselves.