When Error Is a Surprise

When you were a child with a coloring book, do you remember when you accidently colored outside the lines? And then in school when you got a red “X” for spelling a word wrong, or the wrong answer for a math problem? Obviously you were wrong. Throughout our lives we’ve been trained to believe that errors and mistakes are bad. Yes, there’s some truth in that belief. But errors are also extremely valuable when you find yourself surprised that you were wrong: when the outcome was completely unexpected. As adults it’s less about spelling or math, and more about perspective. We’ve become very comfortable with our perspectives, and that can be a problem!

Let’s say your customer is making a purchase and they tell you that they’re replacing their previous purchase that quit working. Of course, you think,?they’re going to purchase your Protection Plan! When you confidently explain your Plan your customer says “No, I don’t want the warranty.” Unexpected! Your error was assuming that anyone who experiences a product failure will be convinced that protection makes sense. Except...maybe they thought it was a fluke, a one-off that couldn’t possibly happen again. Might they have made a different choice if you had shared the similar experiences of all the customers you’ve helped? Perhaps. What’s important is that you recognize that your surprise means you need to adapt your Protection Plan approach to avoid future errors.

We all make mistakes, but when the outcome is a surprise, Protection Plan Top Performers use that surprise to change perspective and improve their presentation. This week, look for those moments when you’re surprised at the outcome to see what assumption errors you’re making. Change those assumptions to…Make It Happen!