Ian, welcome to the same side selling podcast. I am
Ian Altman:your host. Ian Altman, they say you always want to surround
Ian Altman:yourself with people who are smarter than you, and today is
Ian Altman:no exception. I'm joined by my good friend, Tamsen Webster and
Ian Altman:tampson, for those of you who are long time listeners,
Ian Altman:probably remember tam from her book, find your red thread and
Ian Altman:tampson, I apologize if it was finding or fine, but I No, yeah,
Ian Altman:exactly
Tamsen Webster:right. You That was exactly the title of it. So
Ian Altman:what are the odds? So I get it right. Go figure. Go
Ian Altman:figure. And I love the notion of the latest book, which is
Ian Altman:titled, say what they can't unhear. Because if you think
Ian Altman:about it, those of us in sales are always trying to figure out,
Ian Altman:what can I say that's going to stick with my client? What are
Ian Altman:the messages that I'm going to convey that really stick and
Ian Altman:make it so people remember them and they'll actually say it back
Ian Altman:to us the way we said it, if not better. So with that, let me
Ian Altman:welcome you aboard everybody. I want you to meet tam Webster.
Ian Altman:Hey, Tamsen, hey, hey, good to see you. Thanks for joining. So
Ian Altman:what was the what was the driving force behind this book?
Ian Altman:I know that's a boring question, but, but I wanted to know
Ian Altman:because I was like, Wow, I love the topic of this, but what was
Ian Altman:it that made you say, Okay, here's, here's what's needed out
Ian Altman:in the marketplace.
Tamsen Webster:So really, the driving force behind this was my
Tamsen Webster:watching our mutual friend Phil M Jones wrap yet another
Tamsen Webster:audience around his British accented finger. And what I
Tamsen Webster:realized, because I've seen Phil talk about sales and exactly
Tamsen Webster:what to say and all of that, and I know he and you are aligned in
Tamsen Webster:a lot of ways. I was watching him talk about his various
Tamsen Webster:pieces and philosophies, and I said, you know, so much of what
Tamsen Webster:he talks about and what you talk about is so good about in
Tamsen Webster:getting an immediate action, getting action and a yes right
Tamsen Webster:away, and what I'm not hearing, at least in what he is saying,
Tamsen Webster:and as I was thinking about what else is in the marketplace, I
Tamsen Webster:don't see as much and hear as much about how to keep that yes
Tamsen Webster:as a yes. How do you keep someone how do you get a yes
Tamsen Webster:that doesn't back away and become part of buyer's remorse?
Tamsen Webster:How do you get a yes that doesn't turn into a ghost? How
Tamsen Webster:do you get a yes that doesn't turn into well, you know, the
Tamsen Webster:you know, procurement said no, right? So, how is it? What are
Tamsen Webster:those concepts, in a very similar way that Phil presents
Tamsen Webster:accessible, memorable, quick and to the point do I know from all
Tamsen Webster:the time that I've spent doing long term change might help
Tamsen Webster:shift that? So it really was that moment. I'm like, huh, he's
Tamsen Webster:got these concepts. I'm like, I do too. So I wrote them and
Tamsen Webster:created nine persuasion Proverbs, as I like to call them
Tamsen Webster:to really focus on not just action, but sustained action,
Tamsen Webster:keeping the yes, a yes, yeah. I
Ian Altman:mean, a lot of what I look at is, in many, in many
Ian Altman:respects, you're often almost like the messaging whisperer,
Ian Altman:like, Okay, what do we come up with that that someone hears and
Ian Altman:they go, Oh, that's really good. That sticks. And I love that.
Ian Altman:Everything you write about, everything you speak about,
Ian Altman:there's always a structure behind it. So I'm not surprised
Ian Altman:that there are nine proverbs that you share. So be before we
Ian Altman:dive into those, sure, what are some of the mistakes that people
Ian Altman:make when they're trying to accomplish this? So So
Ian Altman:presumably, and you'll correct me if I'm wrong, but the goal
Ian Altman:is, how do I how do I say stuff that's sticky that doesn't then
Ian Altman:erode and get diluted over time, and people kind of forget and
Ian Altman:don't care anymore?
Tamsen Webster:Yes, yep. So I think one of the main big
Tamsen Webster:mistakes is that we go straight to the what we think will be
Tamsen Webster:remarkable or sticky or different, without making sure
Tamsen Webster:that those words that are wrapped around that idea, that
Tamsen Webster:the idea underneath it is something that people would also
Tamsen Webster:say yes to. So one of the things I often say to my clients is
Tamsen Webster:that remarkable may get attention, but relevance keeps
Tamsen Webster:it and there's a lot of things that we do sometimes to get
Tamsen Webster:attention to be different, to be a challenger, to be
Tamsen Webster:controversial with somebody, particularly that we're meeting
Tamsen Webster:with, perhaps for the first time, so that we can stand out.
Tamsen Webster:That while they may get that attention to start with, in many
Tamsen Webster:ways, it works against long term change to begin with. So I would
Tamsen Webster:say that in addition to focusing on, how do we be different, how
Tamsen Webster:do we stand out? The other big mistake is focusing on quick
Tamsen Webster:action rather than long term, sustained changes in thinking or
Tamsen Webster:behavior, and that oftentimes is a different set of principles.
Ian Altman:Yeah, and it's interesting, because I think
Ian Altman:it's one of the things that I. I say, I talk about a lot also,
Ian Altman:which is very often somebody will say, Oh, here's this thing
Ian Altman:we want to solve. And old school sales would jump into the
Ian Altman:solution right away, instead of, well, help me understand why
Ian Altman:that's important, and what is it you're really trying to solve,
Ian Altman:and what have you done to try and solve this? And who else is
Ian Altman:most directly impacted? We unpack all this other stuff that
Ian Altman:now makes it so that we can come back to them and say, okay, in
Ian Altman:order to solve that underlying issue and get this outcome, this
Ian Altman:is what would suggest. But if we didn't do that, if we just jump
Ian Altman:to the solution, we kind of get this watered down problem that
Ian Altman:they have that doesn't have a lot of relevance,
Tamsen Webster:absolutely and and we're also not giving them
Tamsen Webster:all the pieces of the story that's going to happen in their
Tamsen Webster:heads, or that actually has to happen in their heads in order
Tamsen Webster:for it to make sense. I'm sure we talked about this a little
Tamsen Webster:bit the last time, and it's the second proverb in the book. But
Tamsen Webster:every decision has a story behind it, right? A story that
Tamsen Webster:somebody tells themselves. And one of the ways that I talk
Tamsen Webster:about it in this new book is that every action somebody takes
Tamsen Webster:ends an internal argument in their heads about why that
Tamsen Webster:action does or doesn't. Make sense, right? And so if somebody
Tamsen Webster:chooses you or doesn't choose you, it's because they are
Tamsen Webster:telling themselves a story about why they should or shouldn't.
Tamsen Webster:And so the whole idea is, if we only give people the problem and
Tamsen Webster:the solution, which is just the beginning and the end of the
Tamsen Webster:story, like that would be a very unsatisfying story. You know, if
Tamsen Webster:it were a once upon a time story, I often use the Star Wars
Tamsen Webster:example of like, well, once upon a time, there's a Brady kid
Tamsen Webster:named Luke, and he saved the galaxy. And you're like, Okay,
Tamsen Webster:fine, there's no conflict. There's no why would I listen?
Tamsen Webster:You know? And, and the equivalent is basically saying,
Tamsen Webster:oh, that's your problem. Here's our solution. And then when we
Tamsen Webster:when people really want that deeper connection, and the
Tamsen Webster:connection in between is, why is that the solution? Then,
Tamsen Webster:oftentimes what we end up doing then is like, benefit bombing
Tamsen Webster:them and say, well, you're going to get this and you're going to
Tamsen Webster:get this and you're going to get this and you're going to get
Tamsen Webster:this, and that you still haven't actually explained why your
Tamsen Webster:solution would legitimately solve their problem. So they
Tamsen Webster:you're not giving them all the pieces they need to tell that
Tamsen Webster:story to themselves, which is absolutely why they can't tell
Tamsen Webster:it to somebody else either.
Ian Altman:Yeah, and it's interesting, because I think in
Ian Altman:my research, a lot of what we find is that it's not that the
Ian Altman:person hasn't tapped into at some level the problem. Oh,
Ian Altman:absolutely right. They don't yet believe that it's a really
Ian Altman:serious problem. So like, wow, this thing kind of happened, and
Ian Altman:why? You know, we should probably fix that so, so let's
Ian Altman:go, let's go search for a solution. But it's when the
Ian Altman:person communicating with them asked the question about, so how
Ian Altman:long has it been going on? What happens if you can't solve this?
Ian Altman:What have you tried so far? And what I tell my clients is, look,
Ian Altman:if they say, Well, I haven't really tried anything else, it's
Ian Altman:probably not that important to solve, because they haven't
Ian Altman:tried anything. If it's something important, they say,
Ian Altman:Well, we tried this, we tried this, this didn't work, that
Ian Altman:didn't work. And there's research that says the greatest
Ian Altman:reason why people pick one services vendor over another is
Ian Altman:how well they feel you understand their situation. So
Ian Altman:as soon as you jump to the solution, you're talking about
Ian Altman:yourself, not them, and their favorite topic is them. And if
Ian Altman:you can convey that you understand and help them
Ian Altman:understand their predicament, then they're more likely to be
Ian Altman:open to the solution. So where do these proverbs tie into that
Ian Altman:kind of stuff? Because I'm sure they do. Yeah. I
Tamsen Webster:mean, I think what, what it reminds me of is
Tamsen Webster:the first proverb there, which is that change isn't just an
Tamsen Webster:action, it's a reaction. Meaning, if we're trying to get
Tamsen Webster:well, first and foremost, that reaction, that's where you think
Tamsen Webster:about re, hyphen, action, a true change in thinking or behavior,
Tamsen Webster:is a repeated action and and one that is internally motivated,
Tamsen Webster:which is why it has to come in from their side of it has to be
Tamsen Webster:they. It has to make sense to them based on what they already
Tamsen Webster:want, what they already know, what they already care about. So
Tamsen Webster:if we are not focused on that piece and we're just trying to
Tamsen Webster:get that quick action, then again, we may not get that long
Tamsen Webster:term. Yes, we may get somebody asked because yes, you've raised
Tamsen Webster:the stakes, or you've made the pain of the status quo exceed
Tamsen Webster:the pain of change, or whatever it might be. But also, just to
Tamsen Webster:your point, it's also reaction to you. Because if you're trying
Tamsen Webster:to introduce a new perspective on this problem, if you're
Tamsen Webster:trying to get them to see consequences that they're not
Tamsen Webster:seeing, if you're trying to reveal to them that there is a
Tamsen Webster:deeper problem underneath the one that they know about, then
Tamsen Webster:the biggest source of new information is you, and so much
Tamsen Webster:of how you approach that change whether or not you make them
Tamsen Webster:feel worse as a result of what they've done, if you make them
Tamsen Webster:feel bad about what they've. Doing if you make them, if you
Tamsen Webster:insult their current vendor, right? By insulting their
Tamsen Webster:current vendor, your consult, you're insulting them in many
Tamsen Webster:ways that that can absolutely set you up for failure at the
Tamsen Webster:beginning. So that's why I made that the first proverb, because
Tamsen Webster:I think a lot of times we just think that the information is
Tamsen Webster:enough to make the case on our own, but the approach that we
Tamsen Webster:take is just as important, because so much of what people
Tamsen Webster:are reacting to is you,
Ian Altman:yeah, you know what? I love some of these points,
Ian Altman:there are a few things that kind of stick out to me. One is this
Ian Altman:notion of you can never say something negative about the
Ian Altman:competition or about their current vendor, because if
Ian Altman:you've done the right job, if you're talking to the right
Ian Altman:person, they likely made the decision to hire the existing
Ian Altman:vendor. Say, Well, Who's the idiot who hired these people?
Ian Altman:And they're like, Well, that would be me. Okay, I'll let
Ian Altman:myself out. Yeah, exactly. I'll just leave because it's not
Ian Altman:gonna work. And Deborah and I have adult children, so 25 and
Ian Altman:23 we didn't fire their pediatrician. It's just our
Ian Altman:needs changed. We no longer had we no longer had children. We
Ian Altman:had adults. Yeah, and the pediatrician basically said to
Ian Altman:our son, look, when you have to shave before coming to the
Ian Altman:doctor, it's time to you know, skip the pediatrician. You know,
Ian Altman:who are coming here. It's like, Okay, fair enough, right? So
Ian Altman:that kind of, that kind of helps to illustrate this notion of, we
Ian Altman:got to get to that type of issue. We got to get beyond just
Ian Altman:this notion of, you know, us against them. It's more, how do
Ian Altman:we get on the same side? How are we trying to solve this puzzle?
Ian Altman:It's okay, like, the that vendor you chose was probably the best
Ian Altman:vendor on the planet at that time in your in your situation,
Ian Altman:that was awesome. And now that your needs have changed, we can
Ian Altman:expand this to new stuff that you hadn't thought about. And I
Ian Altman:go, well, that's kind of cool. Okay, exactly. Yeah, we can do
Ian Altman:something different, and we can get more going on with that.
Ian Altman:Wow, this is cool. Okay, there's something else to talk about. So
Ian Altman:the first proverb is this idea of every action is a reaction.
Ian Altman:Is that? Right?
Tamsen Webster:Yeah, change isn't just an action, it's a
Tamsen Webster:reaction.
Ian Altman:It's a change is just an action, it's a reaction.
Ian Altman:Which I love, because I often tell people it's like, you can
Ian Altman:come in and think of the greatest thing, but it's like,
Ian Altman:it would be analogous to if you were a, if you were someone who
Ian Altman:did tennis elbow surgery. Yeah, you can't walk in and go, I'm
Ian Altman:the best at tennis elbow surgery. So why don't we get
Ian Altman:together and, and let's, let's go through this and, and I've
Ian Altman:got you scheduled for 10am on Tuesday. Here's some references,
Ian Altman:because if the person doesn't believe they have tennis elbow.
Ian Altman:It really doesn't matter. And if the tennis elbow isn't affecting
Ian Altman:their life, they're not going to subject themselves to surgery.
Ian Altman:And it's the same thing in this business world, where we're
Ian Altman:trying to make it so that people understand that exactly. Walk me
Ian Altman:through the Proverbs that and kind of how this is different
Ian Altman:thinking for people, because I know that it is because I know
Ian Altman:the way your brain works, and you're always thinking of stuff
Ian Altman:that most of us wouldn't think of. Yeah, and, and, and, I don't
Ian Altman:want you to give away everything in the book, because people
Ian Altman:should get
Tamsen Webster:that. They should Well, I'm just giving
Tamsen Webster:people a little taste here. So the first three Proverbs, we've
Tamsen Webster:actually talked about two of the three. And so that first one is
Tamsen Webster:change isn't just an action. It's a reaction, meaning really
Tamsen Webster:be You control a huge amount about whether or not this is
Tamsen Webster:going to be a yes or not. So yep, don't you know, take that
Tamsen Webster:with the responsibility that is, yeah. As I say, your approach
Tamsen Webster:can just as easily implode a change as inspire one second
Tamsen Webster:one. Every decision has a story. So what I'm talking about there
Tamsen Webster:is it's not just an explanation that we're giving people. We
Tamsen Webster:have to give them an actual case, and I mean that quite
Tamsen Webster:literally, that they can make to themselves and to other people
Tamsen Webster:about why that particular action makes sense. Then it's like,
Tamsen Webster:okay, well, if it's an argument, what is it based on? And that's
Tamsen Webster:where the third principle comes into play, and that is that the
Tamsen Webster:principles set patterns. And this is one of the, you know,
Tamsen Webster:what I'm getting at at this one is that, you know, when we're
Tamsen Webster:thinking about what we say yes to, and this is, I think, one of
Tamsen Webster:the places where it's the book really starts to diverge from
Tamsen Webster:other people's thinking is that these actions, these arguments
Tamsen Webster:that we agree with, are based on beliefs that we already have.
Tamsen Webster:And so if we're trying to understand why someone's doing
Tamsen Webster:whatever they're doing right now, we have to stop and think
Tamsen Webster:about, well, why would it have made sense to them in the first
Tamsen Webster:place, and then from there, we can have a much better
Tamsen Webster:understanding about why something different would so
Tamsen Webster:those first three are kind of setting the stage for
Tamsen Webster:understanding how change happens, but it's the next three
Tamsen Webster:that I think are the most countercultural when it comes to
Tamsen Webster:sales messaging. Particular
Ian Altman:so talking before we dive into these next three what
Ian Altman:I want to know is, so what a I love, how I love how the dogs
Ian Altman:have figured out how to how to create a reaction.
Tamsen Webster:Yes, you've Yes, thank you for being patient.
Tamsen Webster:Yes, this is one of those times where at this point of the day,
Tamsen Webster:I have to be very careful. We have to be very careful about
Tamsen Webster:both Tom, my husband and I being on the call at the same time,
Tamsen Webster:which we are, which means that, no, he can't save me right now
Tamsen Webster:from this dog that is like now, just getting a constant stream
Tamsen Webster:of treats so that she doesn't fully interrupt,
Ian Altman:of course, but, but she's, she's figured out. She's
Ian Altman:She's clearly read the book. She's
Tamsen Webster:clearly read the book. This is a very smart, this
Tamsen Webster:is a very smart dog. This one, well, these breakdowns, is what
Tamsen Webster:they do. They That's right, yes, she's, yeah, the only thing that
Tamsen Webster:would make it better is if I were a rabbit, but exactly
Ian Altman:so. So what? So in these next three, yes, what I'd
Ian Altman:love for you to kind of lay out is, what is it that people are
Ian Altman:what is it that people are trying to accomplish? And what
Ian Altman:do they do typically, versus what are you suggesting? Because
Ian Altman:what I'm trying to help people with is okay, so if you're
Ian Altman:trying to accomplish this, and you may typically do this,
Ian Altman:here's a counterintuitive way to look at it. Yep, you can unpack
Ian Altman:it however works for you. But that's true. That's what I'd
Ian Altman:like our listeners to understand
Tamsen Webster:absolutely well, almost always, if you're coming
Tamsen Webster:in and you are trying to get a change, if you're trying to get
Tamsen Webster:the person to change partners, change vendors, to you, you're
Tamsen Webster:trying to get them to adopt or expand. Let's say, if you're
Tamsen Webster:trying to do an inside sale and try to get them to expand what
Tamsen Webster:they're doing, right? There is something that in their mind, in
Tamsen Webster:your mind, needs to change and and usually the way we think
Tamsen Webster:about that is, well, then I need to change what they think. I
Tamsen Webster:need to change what they believe. This is where it goes
Tamsen Webster:wrong, because, as I say in the fifth proverb, that the deepest
Tamsen Webster:beliefs are the hardest to shift. We know this intuitively,
Tamsen Webster:right? The longer somebody believes something, the stronger
Tamsen Webster:they believe it. But what that means is, is that when you try
Tamsen Webster:to bring in a new belief, saying, well, that's not your
Tamsen Webster:problem. This is or you don't want that. You want this or this
Tamsen Webster:is the real reason this is happening, even if they say yes,
Tamsen Webster:which is unlikely, because, remember, they're going to say
Tamsen Webster:yes to things that agree with what they already have agreed
Tamsen Webster:with. Then even if they do say yes, then you've got this
Tamsen Webster:little, tiny, weak baby new belief, like the first time it
Tamsen Webster:gets tested, running up against this 800 pound gorilla of the
Tamsen Webster:way they have done things to date. So what I have seen now
Tamsen Webster:work over and over again in sales, messaging, all sorts of
Tamsen Webster:other messaging, is, instead of trying to challenge their those
Tamsen Webster:beliefs that are getting in the way, search for another one that
Tamsen Webster:is stronger that they already have. So what that means
Tamsen Webster:sometimes is saying, All right, so you don't think you know, if
Tamsen Webster:I try to actually say, Stop doing this. Do this. Instead,
Tamsen Webster:unlikely that someone's going to do that. But generally, there is
Tamsen Webster:something else that they agree as far as how sales work, how
Tamsen Webster:people work, how maths work, how the world works, that actually
Tamsen Webster:is much more reliable and supports the changes you're
Tamsen Webster:trying to make that then when you put those two things in a
Tamsen Webster:fight, it's much more likely to win.
Ian Altman:Yeah, and it's, it's one of these things where I
Ian Altman:often say that our clients will believe 127% of what we say,
Ian Altman:and, you know, and something less than 50% of what we say. So
Ian Altman:they're always going to believe more of what, more of what they
Ian Altman:say than what we say. And so oftentimes we take this approach
Ian Altman:of, you know, it's, it's not challenging what their beliefs
Ian Altman:are. It's just more so on a scale of one to 10, how well is
Ian Altman:that working for you? Yes. And if they go, I don't know, it's
Ian Altman:probably like a six, really. Why six? Well, because this working,
Ian Altman:but that isn't okay. So and then using a line from Phil Jones
Ian Altman:would be well, so how open would you be to considering something
Ian Altman:different? And now it's like it was their idea to do something
Ian Altman:different, so it's okay. But if you come in and say, well, doing
Ian Altman:it that way is going to be awful, they usually are going to
Ian Altman:be resistant if you say to them. So other clients of ours, when
Ian Altman:they've done it this way in the past, didn't even realize this
Ian Altman:was what was happening. And when they've moved this other system,
Ian Altman:these other great things happen. How possible you think that is
Ian Altman:in your situation? Then they go, Hey, I got this idea that maybe
Ian Altman:this would happen. And you're like, oh, it's brilliant that
Ian Altman:you have that idea. But it's more just about sharing, like,
Ian Altman:if we share a third party story, someone goes, Oh, yeah, I'm
Ian Altman:probably a lot like them. If I say to you, you should do it
Ian Altman:this way, I'm probably going to get resistance if I say other
Ian Altman:people had this, but that probably doesn't apply to you,
Ian Altman:right? They're like, well, it totally applies to me. It's the
Ian Altman:same thing, but it now became their idea. So, you know, this,
Ian Altman:this notion. Of those deepest beliefs being the hardest ones
Ian Altman:to change. Totally get that and and too often I see people make
Ian Altman:a mistake of trying to fight that, and it's a losing battle.
Ian Altman:If you want to get top results for your team, take a look at
Ian Altman:these same side, selling Academy. Just visit same side
Ian Altman:selling.com to learn more. That's
Tamsen Webster:right. So I say use, use their beliefs in your
Tamsen Webster:favor. So it's the whole full lot, you know, the whole
Tamsen Webster:phenomenon is something that's known as cognitive inertia. It's
Tamsen Webster:like regular inertia. That is like something that, you know,
Tamsen Webster:body at rest, stays at rest. The thing is, with cognitive
Tamsen Webster:inertia, it's our beliefs that don't move right? It's that we,
Tamsen Webster:you know, we stick with the beliefs that we already have and
Tamsen Webster:the stories that we already tell ourselves. So the thing is,
Tamsen Webster:like, when you work, and as I say, to be don't challenge
Tamsen Webster:people's beliefs. Exchange them, exchange them for something that
Tamsen Webster:they know or that makes more intuitive sense than what
Tamsen Webster:they're doing now, or functionally, when they put it
Tamsen Webster:together, like, ah, yeah, based on what I know to be true, based
Tamsen Webster:on my own experience, your prospect can say, yeah, that
Tamsen Webster:actually does make more sense. Like I was talking with someone
Tamsen Webster:who works at a social media management company, and, you
Tamsen Webster:know, and again, there's lots of options for that, lots of
Tamsen Webster:different things, so it's hard to stand out in that
Tamsen Webster:marketplace. So it was funny, because we were on, I was on a
Tamsen Webster:podcast, and he paused, and he just, he showed a he showed an
Tamsen Webster:ad for them, and I said, you know, what's so interesting is
Tamsen Webster:that the case, you know, all these testimonials that you
Tamsen Webster:picked, all of them talk about kind of the reporting and all of
Tamsen Webster:that. And I'm sure it's very tempting to say, or our
Tamsen Webster:reporting is so much better, but this is one of those places
Tamsen Webster:where they can stand out. Because clearly what's important
Tamsen Webster:to the folks that they're talking to is visibility, right?
Tamsen Webster:And the more that you can say like, the greater visibility you
Tamsen Webster:have into what's working and what's not, the better you can
Tamsen Webster:manage your social media platforms saying something like
Tamsen Webster:that, where someone's like, Well, that's true if, yeah, the
Tamsen Webster:better I can see things, the better decisions I can make.
Tamsen Webster:Then all of a sudden you've supplanted anything else that
Tamsen Webster:says what you know. Instead of making it about this program
Tamsen Webster:versus that program, you're like, Well, now you've made it
Tamsen Webster:so that visibility means everything for my
Ian Altman:clients with often find is okay. So if I said to
Ian Altman:you, oh, here's a better way to do it, the client's gonna say,
Ian Altman:now we wouldn't want to do that. If you say, Well, it's
Ian Altman:interesting, because people used to do this now find that this is
Ian Altman:working better. So how do you think that would be different
Ian Altman:for you guys? It'd probably be the same for us. Okay? And now
Ian Altman:it became their idea, the people you're talking about in the
Ian Altman:social media marketing company, yeah, I think the notion for
Ian Altman:them of being able to say, for example, so that visibility is
Ian Altman:important, but if they if their messaging was almost talking
Ian Altman:more to the problems of other people, and say, you know, a lot
Ian Altman:of times we had clients who said, in the past, the people
Ian Altman:they worked with, they didn't have visibility into what was
Ian Altman:going on, And without that visibility, by the time they
Ian Altman:realized something was or wasn't working, they had wasted a lot
Ian Altman:of money on it. So we've changed that to give instant visibility
Ian Altman:so they can pivot as soon as they start seeing results. How
Ian Altman:would you guys use that? Now the client goes, Oh, if I had that,
Ian Altman:I would do X, Y and Z. And now it's like, well, forget about
Ian Altman:the company I was working with because I had that same problem.
Ian Altman:You know, we often say that people are highly attuned to the
Ian Altman:symptoms they're experiencing. They just don't know what the
Ian Altman:what the condition is that's causing it, or how to treat it,
Ian Altman:but they know what the superficial symptoms are, and if
Ian Altman:we can tap into that, then we get their attention. That's
Tamsen Webster:exactly right. And and by by what I have seen
Tamsen Webster:is that by articulating that in a way that, again, feels
Tamsen Webster:universally true, right, like the better visibility that you
Tamsen Webster:have, the better decisions you can make, right? Like, that's
Tamsen Webster:what we believe at this company, and so that's why we approach it
Tamsen Webster:this way. And that's what we've seen with our clients, is that
Tamsen Webster:when they do X and Y, they see, and that has been just for me in
Tamsen Webster:my work, as I've been working with folks, you know, with this,
Tamsen Webster:with particularly with these Proverbs, but in this approach
Tamsen Webster:of really finding that, you know, I call it a core case like
Tamsen Webster:this, this, what is the underlying argument for what you
Tamsen Webster:are, what you're putting out there, like, Why? Why is it that
Tamsen Webster:you believe this is right, without resorting to features,
Tamsen Webster:you know, flooding them with features, or, like, benefit
Tamsen Webster:bombing or anything like that, like, like, really, like, in a
Tamsen Webster:way that makes intuitive sense to them, what ends up happening
Tamsen Webster:is that your clients end up saying, Ah, yeah, I agree in
Tamsen Webster:principle that why this would work, and with that kind of that
Tamsen Webster:early and really critical, yes, secured, then you can start to
Tamsen Webster:dive into the details of what it looks like in practice, either
Tamsen Webster:for other clients or potentially for them, so that you can start
Tamsen Webster:to go into needs discovery and all of. Yeah,
Ian Altman:yeah. What I love is that you're, you're giving
Ian Altman:people insight into how our customers make decisions, yes,
Ian Altman:and what they need to believe in order to get behind a decision
Ian Altman:so they can own it. And I think that's what, that's what,
Ian Altman:obviously, I spend a lot of time with people on which is, look,
Ian Altman:if you can find someone who says, Yeah, I have this problem,
Ian Altman:and that problem is costing me a lot, and it's really important
Ian Altman:for me to solve. Now you have their attention. If someone
Ian Altman:says, Well, here's this thing I'd like to do, and you start
Ian Altman:talking about your solution, what you fail to recognize is
Ian Altman:that they may not really be bought into how big of a deal
Ian Altman:this is yet. And so your solution, they're like, well,
Ian Altman:that's kind of cool if, if it was a big problem. Now, the
Ian Altman:salesperson says, well, but you called me, it must be a big
Ian Altman:deal. No, they're just like, huh, I got this issue. These
Ian Altman:guys claim to solve it. Let's see what they got and but
Ian Altman:they're not bought into it yet. And I think that if we do this
Ian Altman:right, we're providing our clients with information. So in
Ian Altman:essence, if we ask the right questions, they'll convince us
Ian Altman:that things are worth solving. And if we can convince if we can
Ian Altman:get them to convince us that it's worth solving, they're also
Ian Altman:convincing themselves. And then all of a sudden, now it's like,
Ian Altman:Okay, now, now we're on to something where, okay, now we
Ian Altman:can say something that they can't unhear. Because mostly
Ian Altman:what we're saying is their ideas. We're just kind of
Ian Altman:spitting them back to
Tamsen Webster:them, that's right. And I think where it
Tamsen Webster:comes and creates this magic, kind of magic elixir between
Tamsen Webster:them now saying, oh my gosh, I actually have to solve this. And
Tamsen Webster:you saying, and yes, we've got a way to solve it is by finding
Tamsen Webster:that way to again, using something that they already know
Tamsen Webster:to be true to say, All right, so you know, you've got this issue
Tamsen Webster:that you called with right the way we see it is that in order
Tamsen Webster:to solve that, we have to solve this thing first. Because let's
Tamsen Webster:go back to the social media thing, because if you can't
Tamsen Webster:actually see the results of what you're talking about, you can't
Tamsen Webster:solve it. So that's why it's been so important for us to make
Tamsen Webster:sure that when we're working with clients, we're actually
Tamsen Webster:really focused on visibility. This gets really powerful when
Tamsen Webster:you can say, but that's not all right when you can actually add
Tamsen Webster:this other thing that says, because you know, you can have a
Tamsen Webster:whole bunch of visibility. But if, if, if one thing is showing
Tamsen Webster:you things in black and white and the other thing is showing
Tamsen Webster:you in color, then you may not actually be able to match
Tamsen Webster:anything up. That's why, right? We want to make sure that if
Tamsen Webster:we're if we are getting visibility, that we have a clear
Tamsen Webster:view and we're using the same lens on everything that we're
Tamsen Webster:looking at. So that's why, in our comprehensive system, right,
Tamsen Webster:x, y and z. So, and then you can again relate that back to the
Tamsen Webster:client. So it really is this, this piece about, like, going
Tamsen Webster:back into those, into those beliefs, about using the beliefs
Tamsen Webster:as the core data that's supporting your case for why you
Tamsen Webster:and that, I think, is really where this, this approach, goes.
Tamsen Webster:You know, I think speaking about where we end up going wrong
Tamsen Webster:sometimes, is we, we? We want to flood them with all the data and
Tamsen Webster:all the information, all the facts and the figures, but you
Tamsen Webster:know very much along the lines of what you said, they're going
Tamsen Webster:to believe their own experience most. So leverage their
Tamsen Webster:experience, leverage what they know to be true, and explain why
Tamsen Webster:your product works based on their experience. And then
Tamsen Webster:you've got to really that's what becomes very difficult for them
Tamsen Webster:to unhear. When they're like, oh, this solves a problem that I
Tamsen Webster:know I want solves, and the way that it works is based on
Tamsen Webster:principles that make sense to me, that I believe are true. And
Tamsen Webster:from there, it becomes a lot easier for you to start
Tamsen Webster:anchoring the more more practical and tactical pieces of
Tamsen Webster:what you've already presented.
Ian Altman:Yeah, it's a whole notion of, if we ask the right
Ian Altman:questions, and we give the client the free will, and the
Ian Altman:client makes a decision to do something that makes sense to
Ian Altman:them, then it wasn't like we talked them into something that
Ian Altman:they're gonna talk themselves out of, right? They talk
Ian Altman:themselves into it. And the best way to do that is by us being
Ian Altman:slightly skeptical. That says, Are you sure this is worth
Ian Altman:solving? Like, is this am I missing something? And then they
Ian Altman:either say, no, no, it is. You don't understand. But if we say,
Ian Altman:Wow, that's probably a really big deal, usually the client
Ian Altman:goes, yeah, it's not such a big deal, even if it is because they
Ian Altman:feel pressure from someone else. I used to do this exercise with
Ian Altman:people pre covid That now is less popular to do, which is I
Ian Altman:would have people put their hands palm to palm against
Ian Altman:someone else. And I gave instruction cards, and half of
Ian Altman:them said to gently push against the other person. And half them
Ian Altman:said, push slightly, and then slowly, draw your hands away
Ian Altman:from the other people. Yeah. And if you looked in the room, you
Ian Altman:could not tell the difference of who had which card, because the
Ian Altman:people who pushed got resistance, and the people
Ian Altman:pulled their hands away, the clients tended to follow. And it
Ian Altman:basically came down to it. If you create something of interest
Ian Altman:and slowly pull it away, people will want to follow it. If you
Ian Altman:have something of interest, but you push, you tend to get
Ian Altman:resistance. And this whole idea of being able to say what they
Ian Altman:can't unhear as I hear it, is this notion of if we tap into
Ian Altman:their own beliefs, if we tap into the stories that they can
Ian Altman:that they can believe, if we give them this idea of these
Ian Altman:principles that form patterns, all of a sudden, now we've got a
Ian Altman:framework that says, Okay, I believe this. This is something
Ian Altman:that isn't foreign to me. I can buy into this concept. Am I? Oh,
Ian Altman:absolutely, close.
Tamsen Webster:That's 100% it. I mean, the whole philosophy of
Tamsen Webster:the book is saying, well, all right, really what we're trying
Tamsen Webster:to get people is, is to buy in and sales literally buy it,
Tamsen Webster:right? We want them to become emotionally intellectually
Tamsen Webster:invested, so that they put the money behind it. And if we
Tamsen Webster:operate from this understanding that, you know, every every
Tamsen Webster:decision like that, every choice, every Yes, is the
Tamsen Webster:product of an argument, then we need to make sure that we're
Tamsen Webster:supplying that argument, and if the arguments we agree with are
Tamsen Webster:based on on what on the beliefs we already have, then the whole
Tamsen Webster:philosophy of the book is really what it comes down to. It is
Tamsen Webster:that if we're trying to build buy in, we need to be building
Tamsen Webster:these arguments that are based on what people already want,
Tamsen Webster:already believe. So I think where you know you I mean, I've
Tamsen Webster:always loved so much your approach, and I really love
Tamsen Webster:that, that that visual of, if you give them something
Tamsen Webster:interesting, they'll follow. What this book really does is
Tamsen Webster:say, make sure that whatever they followed will they will
Tamsen Webster:continue to follow. Because, as you also pointed out, there are
Tamsen Webster:those times where people will say yes, either to get you to
Tamsen Webster:stop talking, or because they don't want to lose face. And
Tamsen Webster:there are some principles in the book that speak to that. So one
Tamsen Webster:of them, the fourth one, is that identity is the greatest
Tamsen Webster:influencer. And what I mean, and what I'm talking about there, is
Tamsen Webster:that one of the most reliable desires that all humans have is
Tamsen Webster:to be seen as smart, capable and good. They may not believe that
Tamsen Webster:they are, though many do, but they really want to be seen that
Tamsen Webster:way. They want to be seen as smart, capable and good and long
Tamsen Webster:term, that desire will override anything else, which is why, if
Tamsen Webster:we make someone feel stupid for something that they've done in
Tamsen Webster:the past, if we are using, if we are introducing pain into the
Tamsen Webster:initial sales discussion to get them to act quickly, and yet,
Tamsen Webster:what they stop and think about it, they're like, oh, actually
Tamsen Webster:no, I am too smart, capable of a good person to have done that,
Tamsen Webster:then we may get the initial movement, but it will not be an
Tamsen Webster:initial movement that stays that way, because that desire to be
Tamsen Webster:seen as smart, capable and good, again, not by you the
Tamsen Webster:salesperson, but by the people they have to see every day, is
Tamsen Webster:going to take over. And so it's, it's, it's really just asking
Tamsen Webster:people to think beyond that first moment. And it's and great
Tamsen Webster:salespeople already know this. It was one of the reasons why I
Tamsen Webster:was so delighted that Matthew Dixon, the co author the
Tamsen Webster:Challenger sale, gave me my cover blurb for it. Because, in
Tamsen Webster:a lot of ways, you know, the whole idea of challenging what
Tamsen Webster:people's beliefs is about is useful, if, right, if, if, if
Tamsen Webster:we're doing it in a way that helps them validate their smart,
Tamsen Webster:capable and goodness, and doesn't make it conditional,
Tamsen Webster:which is what I think a lot of times we, perhaps
Tamsen Webster:unintentionally, do, while saying, Well, you will be smart,
Tamsen Webster:capable and good if you make this decision rather than you
Tamsen Webster:are. And there's why this decision makes sense.
Ian Altman:Yeah, we often teach this notion that the reason why
Ian Altman:people often stick with an existing vendor, even if they've
Ian Altman:messed up, and even if the new vendor comes in and shows how
Ian Altman:they're gonna be better, is because one, they have to fire
Ian Altman:the vendor they liked enough to hire to begin with, yes. And
Ian Altman:two, they have to acknowledge that maybe they made a mistake,
Ian Altman:and most humans don't want to do either. So they go back to their
Ian Altman:existing vendor and say, Hey, these other guys said that we
Ian Altman:should be doing it this way. So why don't you take a look? And
Ian Altman:you're like, why did they not switch to us? And it's because
Ian Altman:we made them feel badly. If instead, you say, look, these
Ian Altman:guys were probably the best vendor to pick at the time. And
Ian Altman:what some people found is that just they've gotten so
Ian Altman:sophisticated as a company that those vendors can't service them
Ian Altman:anymore. You think that's possible with you? Oh yeah,
Ian Altman:that's probably true. Now it's like, I didn't make a mistake.
Ian Altman:It's that the other vendor can no longer support me, and
Ian Altman:that's, that's what's happened. So
Tamsen Webster:validate that, validate that original choice,
Tamsen Webster:because then oftentimes it'll also reveal something that they
Tamsen Webster:value and they don't want to lose. And so if there's a way
Tamsen Webster:that you can build whatever they are, you know what they don't
Tamsen Webster:want to lose, make sure that you are emphasizing how that is
Tamsen Webster:still present in the switch. That can help too.
Ian Altman:That's awesome. So where do people get the book,
Ian Altman:aside from everywhere, and where do they connect with you and
Ian Altman:learn more about what you're doing? Yeah.
Tamsen Webster:So they can get the book. The easiest way to
Tamsen Webster:remember it is little changebook.com where they can
Tamsen Webster:get all sorts of aspects of it, because sometimes people don't
Tamsen Webster:remember say what they can't done here, I know irony, but
Tamsen Webster:little changebook.com and to find out and more along these
Tamsen Webster:lines of thinking, I recently founded the message design
Tamsen Webster:institute. So message design institute.com. Will take you to
Tamsen Webster:all things persuasive. Message design,
Ian Altman:listen. Message design, I get, I still refer to
Ian Altman:you as the message whisperer, because I work that's I feel
Ian Altman:like that notion, that notion of, just like coming up with
Ian Altman:stuff that sticks, is is incredibly valuable. So thanks
Ian Altman:for sharing this. I can't wait to read the book and and I'm
Ian Altman:sure our listeners will love it as well. If it's, if it's half
Ian Altman:as good as find your red thread, then I guess find your red
Ian Altman:thread would be twice as good as this. That's not the right
Ian Altman:that's not the right example. But if it's, but if it's, if
Ian Altman:it's half as good, it's still going to be amazing. So, and I'm
Ian Altman:sure it's even better. So thanks so much for joining me. Thank
Tamsen Webster:you so much. Ian, you.