Give It a Try

Deep read (2 mins) Quick read (scroll down)

We love having new employees who are very engaged and excited about joining our store team. The higher their engagement the more likely they’re going to feel comfortable sharing their new ideas. As team members (or managers) we have to be very careful about saying to them “Nope, we’ve tried that before” or “That doesn't work in this store.” After all, the new person is just that—new—and brings their own unique experience and perspective. Their idea just might work!

Tina Seelig at her TED Talk explains “Most people look at new ideas that come their way and they judge them, ‘That’s a great idea’ or ‘That’s a terrible idea.’ But it’s actually much more nuanced. Ideas are neither good nor bad.”

For example, we’ve learned a lot about how to handle Protection Plan objections by giving new employees a chance to share their "crazy" "outside the box" ideas. When they come to us and ask us how they could have overcome an objection we often ask them to review what they know about the Protection Plan and then for them to think of 3 to 5 possible answers by the end of the day (or week). It's a great way to break our habit of having all of the answers, and instead to allow them to add their new perspective to the team's knowledge base.

Most of the answers will need our help to refine and adjust—but in a surprisingly large number of situations the newbie delivers an entirely new Protection Plan best practice! If you have a new employee give them the latitude to come up with some new approaches of their own when it comes to the Protection Plan. No new employees? Ask your co-workers to come up with the craziest answers to objections and see who can deliver the best out-of-the-box answers! Open up to new possibilities when it comes to your Protection Plan, because it’s a great way to get a few extra attachment rate points and…Make It Happen!

Quick read: It’s hard to develop new Protection Plan approaches and answers when we only view new ideas as great or terrible. Instead, work with your team to come up with the craziest ideas possible and give them a chance—you may just come up with something new you can use!