Don’t read this post.
Drink less.
Say this, but don’t say that.
Stop eating sugar.
The more someone tells me not to have sugar, the more I crave sugar.
It’s called reactance.
Whenever people feel like you’re trying to talk them into something, they enter the Zone of Resistance (ZOR).
That’s a problem for salespeople.
Why?
Most salespeople think it’s their job to talk prospects into things.
By way of example imagine you cold call a prospect and they tell you they have a vendor.
The traditional sales approach would be to try to overcome this “objection” by saying things like:
“A lot of people felt the same way, but what they found was . . “
“I’m not asking you to take out your wallet. I just want to show you why we’re different.”
When prospects feel the push, they enter the ZOR.
So what do you do?
Plant a seed of doubt in your prospect’s mind and let them make their own decision.
Like this:
Prospect says, “We have a CPA that handles employee retention credit.”
You say: “That’s good to hear.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, are you using a full-service accounting firm or an ERC firm?”
Prospect: “We’re using ACME Accounting which is a full-service firm.”
You: “I’ve heard some great things about them.”
Labeling (Chris Voss)
“It sounds like you’re happy with how things are going.”
Prospect: “They said we’re not eligible for ERC.”
Mirroring (Chris Voss)
You: “I’m sorry, not eligible?”
Prospect: “Yes, we looked into this last year, and we’re told we can’t get tax credits.”
You: “That might be the case. You have a great firm.”
Pause.
You: “Sometimes we see small businesses miss out on employee tax credits because of recent changes to the infrastructure investment and Jobs Act act that was signed on November 15.”
“So people are running audits alongside their current accounting firms to ensure they’re not missing out. Would you be open to investing 15 minutes to see these changes affect your eligibility?”
Giving people freedom to choose lowers the ZOR.