Thinking Jolts

Studies show that five out of ten prospective customers?make a "no buying decision." Rather than moving forward with a purchase, they stick with the status quo, costing companies and sales reps hundreds of millions yearly in potential new revenue.

If you are in sales, you are not only competing against sales reps from other companies.?Your fiercest competitor is likely the customer's reluctance to move away from the status quo. Hence, the let's do nothing different decision.

I published an e-book,?Selling The Shift, ten years ago, outlining a proven roadmap for sellers to trigger thinking jolts. A step-by-step process to nudge buyers away from the gravitational pull of the status quo, so they can explore what could be rather than clinging to what is.

A thinking jolt is an insight that arrives like a thunderbolt, unexpectedly and without warning that pops into your head, that shifts long-standing assumptions and beliefs.

Albert Einstein said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when creating them." Therefore, one of the first steps in influencing prospects to buy from you is to help them discover that THEY need to think and do something different, like severing a relationship with an incumbent vendor.

Here are four ways to initiate Thinking Jolts:

1. Share stories that inspire buyers to see things differently. Steve Jobs was masterful at sharing stories that created thinking jolts—the shift from a cell phone to a hand-held computer.
2. Share compelling insight—new ideas, strategies, or research relating to the buyer’s industry or business that cause them to think differently and take action. For example, an insight that will inspire new growth.
3. Ask reflective questions encouraging buyers to "look in the mirror" and discover new thinking and beliefs that drive their actions. (Ask, "Have you ever considered the thoughts and beliefs that drive your buying decisions?") They may be surprised by the epiphanies.
4. Help buyers look at situations through a "fresh pair of eyes." By looking at different data, facts, competitors, and context, buyers can see a problem or opportunity differently, suspend belief in today's limits and create the possibilities of tomorrow.

If you want to read my PDF e-book,?Selling The SHIFT,?click on this link?and write:?Selling The SHIFT?in the email subject line, and I’ll email you a FREE copy.

As Nelson Mandela once noted, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Check out my High-Performance Sales Coaching.?A sales coach can help you excel in your sales career and live a life of abundance, joy, and fulfillment. So let's talk and see if my Sales Coaching?can help you unravel beliefs holding you back and uncover blind spots you didn’t even know existed.?Click here to book your free call,?or?Text Me?at 339-927-2746 to schedule a convenient time to talk. There’s no cost for the call.