7 Tricks to Avoid the Assumption Trap
Henning Schwinum
Helping growth-minded Founders, Owners & CEOs to grow their sales leadership capital by using our proprietary PerfectMatch? system to identify the ideal sales leader matched to their unique business requirements.
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Selling Power wrote in one of their recent newsletters: “Assumptions about other people and what they want or don’t want can wreak havoc on your relationships. This is just as true in your professional life as in your personal life.”
Assuming is accepting something as true without question or proof.
It is easy to do, it is convenient when the truth fits one’s own thinking, it is quick as no time is needed to check, it is comfortable as all debate is avoided, and it often happens unconsciously. And because of all that, it is a trap, one that we all fall into way too easily.
Here are a couple of examples from different sales situations:
So, how do we avoid falling into these traps? How do we make sure we are always fully aware of someone else's objectives? Here are seven tricks:
(1)?? Ask clarifying questions. Asking questions is powerful, and it has so many positive effects: learning new things, expanding knowledge, teaching us about the people we are with, and of course, providing clarification to avoid incorrect assumptions.
(2)?? Establish a common starting point. Make sure you understand the problem and why it is relevant to the person you speak with. If they do not relate, either save your breath or ask questions to determine at least one common denominator first as a starting point for the conversation.
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(3)?? Ask for more information. There is room to do so without falling prey to Analysis Paralysis. Replace some of the assumptions with facts.
(4)?? Ask why. Children play this game of endlessly asking 'why.' This needs to be rewarded in business, not discouraged, as it leads an organization to a deeper understanding and possibly the realization that the assumption was wrong.
(5)?? Challenge yourself. Seek out second (and third and fourth) opinions about key assumptions for critical decisions: Create a questioning environment and foster a situation in which all stakeholders are encouraged to question assumptions.
(6)?? Be the devil’s advocate. Purposely change your assumptions and replace them with assumptions on the negative side; so that the outcome looks distinctively different.
(7)?? Openly identify inconsistencies. Honesty, openness, directness, … these are all great personality traits to avoid the assumption trap.
Contact us if you would like to find out how interim or fractional sales leaders can help.
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Riteek Srivastav – The Trap of Assumptions
Frances Pratt – Sales Trap: Don’t Assume
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1 年Henning, thanks for sharing!
Getting the right stuff done, properly // Talks about #Growth #Value #Sales #Leadership #Cutting Through Noise // Sugar Coating is for Cereal
1 年Thoughtful balance here on challenging our own assumptions -- as well as those of our clients. #vendux #salesleadership #fractionalsales
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1 年Can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked sales team that have made pitches how it went and they spouted assumptions. They didn’t follow any of your tips and tricks. I love the #why question. Or framed in this way, “I’m curious, why do you think… x happened??” These are great Henning Schwinum