Stages of Change - Not a sales trick but it works!

While in university, I took a counselling course about how we make decisions and the required psychological process people need to go through in order to be satisfied with the outcome. The main takeaway from the Stages of Change process is this:

Skipping or rushing through one of the 6 Stages of Change will plant the seed of a negative result and we won't be happy about the decision we've made.

Companies are like People

Today, instead of counselling folks about personal issues, I counsel companies about their warehousing requirements. Many times I’ve met with companies whose warehouses are a mess! We stand in the clutter, unable to safely walk down aisles and they tell me that everything’s good, that they are operating efficiently. Can they not see? Why don’t they acknowledge there’s a problem? Using the Stages of Change, here's a few ways to identify a persons' mindset and how we can adjust our approach to ensure a positive outcome.

Stage 1: Pre-Contemplation

Timeline for Decision: Within the next 6 months +

Client Mindset: “Change what?”

Commonly Heard: "Our warehouse isn’t a mess, our marketing is fine, we're profitable and that's all that matters"

Stage Summary: In this stage the person doesn’t know or isn't acknowledging that there's any issue. They aren’t thinking seriously about changing and are DEFINITELY not interested in any help. People in this stage defend their current habits or may not feel it is a problem.  They may become defensive in the face of other people’s efforts to pressure them to change. 

Proper Approach: Be the anti-salesperson—“Here’s my contact info. I've helped others succeed in this area. Please reach out if you need help."  And then walk away!

Stage 2: Contemplation

Timeline for Decision: Within the next 6 months

Client Mindset: “Maybe we should change…”, Generally ambivalent to change

Commonly Heard: "Well the warehouse isn’t as safe as it could be….", "maybe we should get an expert in to look at our advertising"

Stage Summary: People are accepting that there's a problem but aren't ready yet or sure they want to make a change. People are on a teeter-totter, weighing pros and cons. Typically they think about the negative aspects of their current state and the positives associated with changing. They're likely to doubt that the long-term benefits associated with changing outweigh the short-term costs.

Proper Approach: People in this stage are more open to receiving and using educational interventions—specific collateral pieces meant to address specific benefits, questions and concerns.

Stage 3: Preparation / Research

Timeline for Decision: Within the next 30 days

Client Mindset: “Let’s get ready to change!”Very positive and very optimistic.

Commonly Heard: "We HAVE to do something about this - this is serious", "Something has to change, what can we do?" What’s in place now?" "How much?", "How little?", "How effective?"

Stage Summary: This is the “getting ready to change” stage! To be here the client has acknowledged there is a need and a decision has been made to explore options. At this point they will start looking to see what strategies and resources are available. Too often clients gloss over this stage and try to move from contemplation directly into action. They may fail because they haven’t adequately researched or accepted what it is going to take to make this major change.

Proper Approach:  Sometimes we need to bring our clients back to this stage in order to set goals and metrics for post sale evaluation. There needs to be quantifiable data to help you and the client evaluate ROI. Failure to establish baseline qualifiers means we may be left to evaluate outcomes based on emotions and evolving expectations that have become unrealistic.

Stage 4: Action

Timeline for Decision: Within 6 months

Client Mindset: “We are changing, it’s happening!”, “We did it!”

Common Themes: Tenders, Purchase orders, delivery date..,

Stage Summary: People in the action stage believe they can change and are actively involved in taking steps. In this stage people are open to receiving help and are likely to be seeking support. Remember if you’re meeting the client for the first time and they're in this stage you're not the only one they've called! 

Proper Approach: With our support the client has seen the need, been empowered to believe they can change, and designed a detailed action plan and are now ready to act! Make the sale!

Stage 5: Maintenance

Timeline for Decision: More than 6 months

Client Mindset: “We did it! Yay us!”

Commonly Heard: "Hard but worth it", "Change is good", "Give it time"

Stage Summary: The goal of the maintenance stage is to maintain the new status quo. People in this stage tend to remind themselves of how much progress they’ve made. They’re patient with themselves and recognize that it often takes some time to let go of old behaviors and patterns and to practice new ones until they become second nature. Even though they have thoughts of returning to their old bad habits, they resist the temptation and stay on track. 

Sales Person's Approach: A professional sales person will use this "honeymoon period" to look for potential issues coming in the future. Although there is motivation to stick to new behaviors, this may not last. We need to find the positive touchstones, the things making the biggest difference—we may need to remind them of this in the future.

Stage 6: Relapse

Timeline: 30 Days after the sale

Client Mindset: “Urggh this is hard, I don’t know if it was worth it”

Commonly Heard: "We stopped doing that part", "Too expensive to keep going", "It’s not working"

Stage Summary: In this stage people’s patience has run out and they’re feeling a strong pull to old behaviors. They may be overwhelmed with how much work it’s taking to maintain working in the new ways. A good sales person anticipates that this stage is coming since not handling it correctly could mean all the work we put into earlier stages is squandered. To handle this stage correctly we need to have identified the rhythm of the business and when this stage will occur after the sale. I use 30 days but every industry and product is different. 

Sales Person's Approach: Remember the research and planning phase? We planned for this to happen, it’s why we helped the client clearly define the key deliverables and goals—this is the time to remind them of how things used to be. In the previous stage people talked positively to themselves. At this stage they need us to encourage them.

Conclusion – Go forth & Sell!

Successful sales people study their product offering from the perspective of the Stages of Change and know how to respond to their needs during each stage of decision making. The bottom line is our responses need to be customized and tailored to the individual. We must connect with our clients, know their mindset and allow them the time to process and change. 

About the Author: 

Steve Atkinson is the National Storage Expert and GM & Partner with Waymarc Industries Ltd. For over 20 years Steve has acted as a consultant to organizations that want to increase safety, operational efficiency and profitably within their storage facilities. Steve works with companies of all sizes and in multiple industries including Mining, Oil, Automotive, Agriculture, Warehousing & Distribution, Recreation, Manufacturing, Health Care, Education and Museums & Galleries.