David Weinberger in his
Authors @
Google video about his new book Too
Big To Know, makes the point that to
convince someone of a new position, you need significant prior
agreement when you start, maybe 98%.
As he says in the video,
as a Jew, there is little chance he’s going to come to much
agreement with a Nazi.
Where does the underlying
agreement come from? It’s seldom defined when you meet, and
probably not coming from the prospect. So it must be up to the
salesman to find it and define it.
It’s easy to find areas
of commonality with others. You have to look for it, and when you
find it, work with it. Build from a base of agreement to get to a new
concept.
Does that change
anything for you?
April
10 is the next Capital
Technology Management Hub featuring Sales
Lab’s Rainmaker
13 - Are You Making The Most of Your Opportunity?
300 seconds of pure profit. The main speaker will be Tom
Cooper of Bright Hill Group, presenting
How to Deliver On a Project - When Your Team Doesn't Report To You.
Posts
Dick:
ReplyDeleteWe know it is harder to sell something we do not fully believe in - the corollary applies to getting consensus - if you and your listener are at opposite ends of the spectrum, no agreement will happen. It becomes more likely as the gap narrows.
Whether it's 98% agreement or not, the post illustrates the value of hearing what the other person is saying - not simply listening to formulate your next counter point.
Good post - makes you think.