The art of true leadership is developing a framework that has people genuinely wanting to come with you on your journey. It’s not about coercion, which only
breeds resistance and resentment.
Let’s use the sales context.
American writer Henry Overstreet said this, “The Secret of true persuasion is to induce the person to persuade themselves.”
The way I teach our clients to do this is to first get into the other person’s worldview. See it from their eyes? What’s their perception of their situation? How could it be affecting them? Yes, that takes thinking, some research and a level of empathy.
Start by asking well-crafted questions which have them think about their situation and the implications. If your questions are thought provoking, they’ll naturally lean in, give considered answers. And by having them consider their situation in both emotional and logical terms, they may well sell themselves on wanting to solve their own problems.
Sales trainer, Brian Tracy says, “People don’t argue with their own data.”
So think about the questions you’d ask where they answer in a way that has them realize they have a problem or an opportunity. And speaking further with you, they realize there’s a solution, and that you’re a potential provider of it, and they trust you to be able to do so.
So what do you need to ask for your prospect to admit this to themselves? Admit that they’ve got that problem. Yes, this is what it’s costing them now and into the future. And recognize you have a solution, and trust you to provide it.
This is a far more respectful and powerful sales methodology than going in talking about yourself, how long you’ve been in business, opening up a laptop and showing them a pitch deck, talking about the solutions that you have before your prospect has even admitted to themselves that they have a problem.
So my challenge to you is to deeply think about the questions that you should be asking your prospects. Questions that will lead them on a journey so that they get to admit to themselves that they have a problem. That they are looking for a solution and the solution could be you.
