Trilogies, part 3...

Trilogies are also famous in the fight game. Pacquiao-Marquez, Fury-Wilder, Ali-Frazier, the list goes on. That's Michael Buffer above, the ring announcer made famous for his catchphrase "Let's get ready to rrrrumble!!!"

So where was I??Oh yes, Translations. It’s an equally important skill in selling, and actually done better with lots of Empathy. Those who know me best, know me for my love of analogies. One time, right before a keynote at SCOPE, a colleague randomly challenged me to incorporate the word "kale" into my speech - challenge accepted. Though I'm happy to use familiar sports analogies all day long, I'd have more fun using spa services to help someone understand an idea.

I am proud of this practiced skill, but ironically, it’s something I learned and honed out of shame. My parents didn't speak English all that well and my Korean was nonexistent. And we were both embarrassed about each other's poor language skills. For my part, I was often tasked with translating things in a manner my parents could understand, often in realtime - which was doubly embarrassing. I learned quickly that saying something louder and repeating yourself doesn't make it stick. But soon enough, they were picking up what I was putting down on the regular. As a 14 year old, I successfully explained the concept of a water softener to my parents, using only analogies. Looking back, I must’ve sounded like a burned out, new age hippie, “Mom, it’s like a special sticky tape, but made of salty water, and that takes out all the bad stuff.” My parents weren’t stupid, they just didn’t speak the language, AND there was a better way to communicate the idea.

We ended up buying the water softener, and that sales guy never gave me a cut of the commission. But boy, did our dishes sparkle! And I learned something valuable. My former colleague in Marketing, Brian Smith, once said it to me very simply (which is always best), "If your customer doesn't get you, it's your fault, not theirs.” Translations combined with Empathy, means you communicate in their language, not yours, oriented on their values, not yours. This is a timely topic given the recent LinkedIn post by Mike Wenger

To my current and prospective customers, I will strive to make this commitment to you.?To my competitors, let’s get ready to rrrrumble!