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Which would you rather do?
Change or Die?
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- By Steve Hastings
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Seriously, what would you do if you were given that choice? Actual life or death. Confirmed by a well-informed,
trusted authority. All you had to do was change and your life would be longer and more enjoyable.
Would you change?
You said , “yes”?
Real data says you are deluding yourself!
The scientifically studied odds are nine to one AGAINST change.* In patients with heart disease so severe they have
by-pass surgery (not the one day in, one day out angioplasties), two years later 90% of them have not changed their
lifestyles – they do not eat better, eat less, exercise more, or quit smoking!
Is it any wonder customers or prospects won’t change even when you KNOW it is the right thing for them to do?
The fact is - it is THEIR money, not yours. You may see the logic in why they should change, and they may even agree.
The problem is that they really don’t WANT to change.
So how can you help them when it is not apparent that they want to change or improve? This article cannot do this
subject justice. Chapters and books have been written about this including experts like Harvard Business School’s
John Kotter. In fact, Jeff Thull wrote a book entitled, “The Prime Solution” which addresses this concept very well
in a sales application.
I suggest you work on Four “2” things – Need 2, Want 2, Way 2, and Way 2 Go!
1. Need 2 – the buyer needs to understand the logical applications to their business, just like
the doctor explains the reasons why the person should change their lifestyle.
2. Want 2 – the buyer needs to connect to the emotional side, they really have to want to change.
One would think that heart bypass patients would easily connect with this but, when your solution is not life or death,
your prospect might have a lot of sound reasons to stay with what they are already doing.
3. Way 2 – this is the key next step. Once the buyer understands the logic and the emotion of the change,
they still need to know the way to consummate this change and have successful results.
4. Way 2 Go! – I submit that many salespeople miss this opportunity to reinforce the buyer on their good
decision. Once they have the sale, they go on to the next prospect, and the next, and so on. It is critical that this change
is reinforced, by you and others. You can stop back, observe how things are going, re-engage the customer, reinforce his/her
progress and the benefits they will realize. Bring similar buyers together for updates and give them a chance to interact with
others who made the same decision. Insurance company Mutual of Omaha paid for a trial of 333 severely heart diseased patients,
put them on the same “changed lifestyle”, and added one more thing – they needed to attend a twice weekly group support session.
The program lasted one year but, after three years, 77% of the patients had stuck with their lifestyle changes. They beat
the odds! Why? They got the appropriate reinforcement when it was easy to fall back to the “old way”. Once the change had become
imbedded, it stuck.
The most important of the “2”s is the Way 2 Go. Encouragement
and reinforcement can be delivered in many ways. It is essential to incorporate more than one way to heighten its effectiveness. Consider a verbal “way 2 go” along with
strategically applied recognition or awards/rewards. A pat on the back or the successful completion of a training
program evidenced by a printed certificate is inexpensive but no less effective. Apply each of these liberally and
frequently.
Change is not that difficult if you have the Need 2, the Want 2, know the Way 2, and get told Way 2 Go!
* This data was compiled by Dr. Edward Miller, the dean of the medical school and CEO of the hospital at Johns Hopkins
University.
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