On Friday, Evan Addams returned for his second visit to class where he presented “The Fives Salespeople You Meet in Heaven.” The fifth persona was “The Challenger.” After the five were listed, he asked everyone in the room to decide which persona they identified with. I was the lone wolf (no reference intended) who rose her hand as a Challenger.
Originally, I was going to raise my hand as “The Relationship Builder,” as I am very much a people person and the type to be driven by relationships in general. When the Challenger was presented, I thought to myself (literally), “Shoot. That’s more me. Dang it. I don’t know if I want to be that proud girl raising her hand with the persona that the selling theory he’s literally talking about is based on.” *cue internal screaming*
Then my wonderful friend Tessa tapped my shoulder and said “That’s you.” to which I responded, “Really?” and she said, “Yes. 100%.” (Tessa tends to be the one in my life that assures me that the things I think about myself that I think may be prideful are just true about me.)
That’s when I decided to be bold and go for it, and, low and behold, I was the lone “Self-declared Challenger.”
The more I thought about it while Evan was going through the nuances of the persona, the more I realized it was me.
I tend to be the one that likes to walk a friend through the whole thought process behind discovering the solution to a problem. I truly care about what the right solution is, not the easy one or the one everyone else is telling them. I believe that the best way to solve a problem is through finding the root of the problem and cutting it off at its source. This, in my eyes, is the true way to solve a problem. And I don’t like to be the only one finding out the root. I can tell my friend repeatedly “You should do this, you should do this, you should do this,” but it doesn’t matter unless they understand why they should. This can only be done by showing them how the solution fits their problem.
I will close by sharing the advice that Evan gave to me about being a Challenger and how to keep that persona: Never lose the perspective you have. People will push back on you challenging the way they see their problem, but stick with them and keep with your process. Just listen and don’t give up.
testacr22