Greg's Right FIT #514–This week: Persuasion, Inbox zero, Being serious

Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . starting next week. 

In this issue: 

- Thoughts on Persuasion
- Being Human
- Random Stuff

Thoughts on Persuasion

• There's truth in the saying "givers get." When we offered a gift, among our first thoughts are, "you shouldn't have." This is because when receiving a gift, social norms tell us we're on the hook to return the gift at some point in the future. There's a reason they banned groups from handing out flowers at the airport.
• In sales communication, listen for the word "because" when one party is trying to persuade the other to take action. Research shows when we hear "because" we tend to agree with whatever follows, even if it doesn't make sense. Experts think it has something to do with being told, "because I said so!" in our youth.
• Persuading another party to consider your product/service/opinion is easier if you don't think they are broken. It's ten times easier if you haven't publicly told people you think they are broken. Watch your language.
• Goal setting gurus tell you to make a public declaration to help you get what you want. Salespeople know this tactic too. Remind yourself of this when they say something like, "as you yourself said. . ." when they ask for your business. We want to be consistent, but not automatically so.

Being Human – Wait, is this you?

“It’s far too rarely stated that the technology industry is not in the business of making people productive. It is only in the business of selling more technology.”
― Mark Hurst

Over the years I've recommended a book for keeping track of all things digital. "Bit Literacy," by Mark Hurst. I read it a long time ago. The thesis I took away from it is that digital bits and bobs may not feel like clutter, but they have a psychological weight to them you have to manage. Among the gems that I use to this day:

• Change the email subject line when the subject changes.
• Use simple text edit files whenever possible.
• Use descriptive names for your files.
• Don't use your email client as a to-do list.

This last one has always been a battle. Mark made a great tool that I used successfully for years, Good ToDo, and it helped. It's a battle. When I am on top of things, I am at inbox zero. When I'm behind, I'm at inbox hundreds.

I am thinking about this because there is a new set of tools for busy people to manage their inboxes. AI productivity tools. They promise to save as much as four hours a week. Almost one hour a day. Sounds great, right?

I'm on the receiving end of these tools, not yet using them. One thing I've run into is non-sequitur-like conversations. A feeling of wait, are we talking about the same thing? It's not obvious, like a change of subject. It's more like a skimmed reading, then response. It's hard to put my finger on it, but it's happening.

I'm guessing the problem is me. I tend to put too many subjects in one email. (another Bit Literacy no-no) This email had multiple concepts, and the answer from the recipient came back, "Great, I look forward to reconnecting and getting a status update." Reading that, my head cocks to one side like a dog's. Status update? My email highlighted areas of misunderstanding. Huh. A quick call clears it up, but seeing "Sent via Spark" in the signature makes me wonder if they read my note in the first place. They certainly didn't close read it.

Face-to-face communication is best. Online calls with camera's on comes next. With either of those you can be pretty sure communication is getting a good shot, because you can see the person you're communicating with. Phone calls are after that. Emails and texts are the toughest. It relies on the reader to fill in context and voice inflection. And now, with the new AI tools, phone calls, emails, and texts are even more suspect. Mostly because we're left to wonder, is this really you?

Random Stuff

“I suppose one must be serious sometimes.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

"How are things?" I said.

"Amazing. How's business for you?" he said.

"Amazing too," I said, before correcting myself. "Check that, things are going well. 'Amazing' would be stretching it."

We have a polite laugh and get to business. The guy I'm talking to is in the agriculture space and we're on a business call. He's the leader of a sales team, and preternaturally upbeat. I don't know if he thinks things are good or bad in his business, but I know we're talking because his boss thinks it could be better. The boss is not upbeat. In my experience he's never been upbeat. I saw him get out of a brand new truck still sporting a temporary sticker and he seemed pissed about it. It's his default.

In my early sales career I was sent to a one day motivational seminar. I heard Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, and a host of other sales gurus. I don't remember much, but I remember Zig moving around the stage, saying good things at full voice on the right side, and getting on one knee speaking quietly about challenges on the left side. I remember trying to write down all of Jim's little sayings (before realizing they are all in a book for a sale in the back), and I remember Tom teaching us his morning cheer. Imagine saying this at full voice in the shower while pumping your right fist, then your left fist in to the air at each exclamation: "I'm ALIVE! I'm AWAKE! and I! FEEL! GREAT! I feel FINE! I feel GOOD! I feel like I! KNOW! I! SHOULD!"

I want to say that kind of sales training made me into an "always sunny" guy like my ag sales manager Zoom friend, but it was in me long before then. I was with a group of college friends last year. We hadn't been around each other for 30 years. A guy I knew walked through the hotel and I called to him across the lobby. We chatted, he walked away, and a friend said, " how do you know him?" Before I could answer, another friend said, "you know your problem, Chambers? You like people." I've been more-sunny-than-not long before sale motivation seminars.

As my new upbeat friend hangs up, I feel for him. He is getting the snot kicked out of him right now, and his boss isn't helping. I can't help him, either. Not until he comes down a notch or two from "Amazing." And I really don't want to be the guy to knock him down.

Unless they pay me well. Then I'M! HAPPY! TO! GET! GROUCHY! TOO!