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"Do not worry about holding high position; worry rather about playing your proper role." ~Confucius This is a really great exercise to use to explore values and beliefs as they relate to dealing with your affluent prospects. We do this through the concept of 'social positioning'. In life, business, social settings, there are many social levels in which we relate to the world. We can be 'one up' in some settings, 'one down' in others, and on equal footing in others. These terms are very general, but once I get into more detail, you'll see what I'm getting at. I remember when I was nineteen years old and I wanted to go run a health spa for the company that I was working for. I went to see the vice president and I sat down with the guy and he says, "Well, what can I do for you today?" I replied, "Well, it's not what you can do for me, it's what I can do for you. You're probably going to think I'm a smart ass, but here's what the deal. I am your top salesman, in the whole company. I hold every single record there is to hold in terms of sales. It's time you made me a manager." "Yeah, right," he said. To which I responded, "If you don't make me the manager, I'm going to go to your competitor, the one next door to your strongest club, and I will run your club into the ground." "Are you serious?" he asked, incredulously. "I'm dead serious." "You can't do that." To which I replied, "What's stopping me?" "You're not good enough to do that," he said. I said, "Okay. Goodbye." I walked out and did exactly what I said I was going to do. I recruited all of the staff, the staff I had hired and trained, and took them with me. This is about the time the old club had a fit and tried to hire me back. What do these social positions mean? There's no judgment involved. One person is not "better" than the other, it just has to do with who has the most power in the situation. Think of it in terms of logical levels of thought. Say I'm eliciting your criteria about selling your house. I finally get to the highest level value which is 'freedom'. For you freedom equals selling your house. You will have freedom if we accomplish selling your house. If you want to move someone off of a particular position, get a higher value of what they're talking about already and use that value to move them. That's the way you can move people from one thing to another. To do that you have to learn how to jump up and jump down effectively. How do you approach your prospects? As a 'sales person'? Are you coming at them from a lower level, as in, "I'd be so appreciative if you'd listen to a few minutes of what I have to say." That's baloney. You've got to learn to come in basically at equal and then quickly put yourself into a higher position if you really want your affluent prospects to get your value. And if they don't get your value, they're not going to buy from you. This isn't about domination or arrogance. And maybe you even had to start a little lower to start. Keep in mind at all times that these positions are all in your head, they're your intention, and you have to get good at moving between them as the situation warrants. Maneuvering between the levels of social positioning will help you remain fluid and flexible, and in turn, help you become a better persuader.
Article Source: http://www.worldofarticles.net
Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of affluent prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.
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