A Valuable Lesson from an Unhappy World Chess Champion

A Valuable Lesson from an Unhappy World Chess Champion

You may not know that one of my hobbies is playing competitive chess. Perhaps, you don't care to know, but there is a lesson so keep reading...

Every year, I and Bart Camarata (my friend who many of you know for his amazing videography work in the employee benefits space) attend the Sinquefield Cup.

One year, Garry Kasparov attended, and I was lucky enough to meet him.?

Kasparov is considered one of if not THE best chess player ever, and was world champion for 15 years. He has also been an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin for many years, and he in fact, predicted the Ukraine invasion years before it occurred.?

Garry was on his way out of the playing venue when I caught him for a picture. He was not there to sign autographs, much less take pictures. Clearly annoyed at my request he relented as Bart already had the phone ready to take the infamous picture which is this article's banner.

As you can see, Garry was not thrilled.

And thus is the lesson for today...

Don't do what I did to Garry to your prospects.

I "compelled" Garry to take a picture - I unintentionally created a situation where it would have been difficult for him to say no so he understandably reluctantly agreed but with a scowl on his face that was usually only reserved for his toughest chess opponents.

Too often advisors and consultants will assume the prospect is ready to take action, ready to buy, ready to say yes, ready to accept your advice, ready to move forward, ready to do whatever...

The assumption comes from the "rapport" and kindness that is created during an initial conversation or meeting.

But then, when the advisor follows-up to move the prospect to the next step, the prospect goes quiet, and doesn't respond falling into what I call "sales limbo".

Don't mistake courtesy, kindness, banter, or even rapport with a meaningful conversation or relationship.

It's not enough to attempt to compel the prospect to the next step of your process,?they have to want to go there themselves.

Thus, the less resistance and friction your process has, the more value-driven it is, and the more relaxed and truly consultative you are, the more likely the right prospects will move forward with you.

I'm not suggesting that you don't maintain control of the process - quite the contrary - but your control should be created by asking questions and providing valuable education to the prospect.

By managing expectations with your prospect about what your process is, how long it takes, and what the steps are, you can control the process while also delivering real value.

Alternatively, if your process feels forced, inauthentic, or artificial, then the prospect *might* move forward with you for a bit, but soon enough, they're going stop that momentum and leave you wondering what happened.

The best "sales processes" are those where the prospect is merely given the opportunity to educate themselves on their problem and the potential solution.?The advisor acts as the facilitator guiding them, asking and answering questions, and ultimately, the prospect comes to the conclusion of take action.

This may sound like more "art" than science. Perhaps, there's some art involved, but there is a scientific model and approach to adopting this in virtually any practice.

If you'd like to discover more detail about how to do this effectively, I'd encourage taking a look at the Stealth Selling replay?HERE .

Otherwise, feel free to email me any questions you have to: [email protected]

A big thank you to Garry Kasparov for being an inspiration to me, and for taking that picture scowl and all!