The Dr. Phil Question

I was working with a rep today as she was trying to sell an upcoming special section. We were making the rounds of her territory and dropping off a collateral brochure for the product. Her plan was to "contact" all of her advertisers and prospect in this manner in hopes they would call her with an order. If she didn't get a response she might followup with a "Did you read the literature?" call. I asked her the question Dr. Phil made famous on his TV show--"How's that working for you?" I asked her how much business she had sold using this technique. She sheepishly admitted that she had sold virtually nothing this way. Reps often do something out of habit or because it is painless. This is the classic definition of insanity but the path of least resistance can be very tempting. Asking the Dr. Phil question can make reps realize that this isn't the way to get the job done.

Make A Defence!

Thanks Jim Busch

Buy-in question

Sometimes we have to make decisions that our people don't like or agree with. When you get push back try using this question. Restate the situation and all the information you used to come to your decision and then ask "If you were in my position what would you do." This is a good conversation starter. If the rep makes a suggestion that would benefit them ask "How would the rest of the team feel if I did that?" or "How would you feel if you were...?" This process helps the rep see things from your perspective and while they might still disagree with you, they will understand that your decision was not arbitrary. As always good questions are the steering wheel in any conversation and they let you control where things are going.

Make A Difference!

Thanks Jim Busch