PicoBlog

TLDR: Mutual value is the key to influence & inspiration

I was talking with a friend recently about sales tactics like storytelling, negotiating, mirroring, and objection handling. It came up that these tactics can be perceived as coercion or manipulation, so we debated the merit of that and arrived at what I think is an interesting distinction.

Not surprisingly, others have documented the difference between these “four horsemen,” but not in the context of sales or fundraising as far as I could tell.

The dictionary of course, will be more finite and literal, but here’s where we landed:

Coercion - Convincing someone to do something against their will or best interest

Manipulation - Getting someone to do something they think is in their best interest, but may not be

Persuasion - Instilling a belief in what the right thing to do is, regardless of intent or best interest

Inspiration - Helping someone see what is in their best interest to create mutual value

The act of selling, be it to fundraise for your company or fund, to make progress on a cross-functional initiative, or even to make better decisions amongst your friends and family, is often misconstrued with a negative connotation.

I think that’s because “selling” and “sales tactics” often read as manipulation or persuasion rather than inspiration or influence.

However, the most legendary and successful salespeople I know focus on one core principle: create mutual value.

This concept of “what’s good for you is good for me” is rarely discussed, but if you sit with any career salesperson who has more than a few Club trophies, it’s probably the first thing they’ll tell you about working effectively.

When you focus on the “what’s good for you” part first, you can make a decision as to where that may overlap with “what’s good for me.”

In traditional sales, we call this discovery. But that’s really for amateurs who are learning the craft. Professionals develop a more natural skill of relationship building, and a genuine interest in helping other people.

This both helps you stop wasting time with people who you cannot help, but also leads to faster and larger opportunities with those you can.

Often times the end goal is the same no matter what. You want to sell a widget or a concept or raise money for example. For that reason, you already know what you’re selling and you know the end game, but if you start at the end you’re unlikely to inspire someone who brings a different context and set of priorities to the conversation.

If you first believe that selling anything to anyone is possible, then the next question you have to ask is would I be coercing them, manipulating them, persuading them, or inspiring them?

If you’re coercing or manipulating them, you need to walk away.

However, I do believe that the best salesperson understand the overlap between persuasion and inspiration, and I would call this overlap the zone of creativity & good intent.

Your ability to understand what matters to your audience, qualify and quantify it’s impact, and map it to a better and brighter future is when you move into inspiration and influence.

To do that well takes thoughtful questioning and deep listening. It requires developing a creative view on the impact you can create, and when that happens, incentives and impact become aligned, motivating both parties to work together toward a shared objective.

These moments, when mutual value is unlocked, is where the most legendary professionals I know truly thrive.

Think about it.

See you Monday.

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