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How to Get Salespeople to Leave Their Comfort Zone

  
  
  

Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.

comfort zoneWe asked our 8-year-old son if he was willing to help out and have a female classmate ride home with him today.  He wasn't sure.  If he didn't do the right thing and said no, he would hurt her feelings.  If he did the right thing, he worried that he would be uncomfortable spending time with her.  When they are eight years old, boys think girls are yucky.

This is the same dilemma that salespeople face every day, in every sales call, in every interaction.  Do the right thing and ask the tough question that the situation calls for; or do what's comfortable and present.

Our son made the right decision and was rewarded for leaving his comfort zone.  They had a great time together. The funny thing is that it was only the decision that was difficult.  Once he had made the decision it was VERY comfortable.

The same will be true for your salespeople.  The only part they will struggle with is THE DECISION to do the right thing by asking the tough question. Once they've made the decision, the actual question they ask will be easy too.

Which of your salespeople get uncomfortable and when?

How can you get them to leave their comfort zone?

Simply role play it with them until it's easy for them and it comes automatically.

 



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Posted by Dave Kurlan on Wed, Nov 10, 2010 @ 09:11 PM

COMMENTS

Really interesting blog. I think the most difficult thing for many sales people is to talk about price. How can salespeople get comfortable with a discussion on price, especially when their customer is pushing a price that they both know is unacceptable?

posted on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 6:59 AM by Paul Hesselschwerdt


Dead on - and a perfect device to get your point across. Much of our comfort zone is formed in childhood, dug into our subconscious by the time we're adults. Doesn't take a whole lot of heavy lifting to shift it, being aware of it is the first (big) step.

posted on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 7:14 AM by Casey Quinlan


What a difference it makes when you know the reason why you're doing something. I find it's easier to make the decision to do the right thing and risk being uncomfortable when I truly believe I'm doing my prospect a DISSERVICE by not opening my mouth. I believe that what I offer is extremely valuable – to the right person. My job is to thoroughly “sort through” the people! 
 
Excellent article - thank you!  

posted on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 10:00 AM by Mike Liebensohn


Dave , great article. You know it is so funny. I am working through some of these issues right now, less about questions and more about making new calls. It is so silly how we get caught up on these things. I now this has to happen on a daily basis, but still struggle with it. 
 
The worst part about this is I know we offer a great service to our clients and we are one of the top in our industry so as Mike mentioned we are doing the world a disservice by not finding the right clients in need of our services. 
 
I do think going through your system is helping break these silly limitations. I'll be excited when this is no longer an issue and maybe thinking about this article and the issue as it relates to kids will help. thanks for sharing.

posted on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 10:30 AM by Dale Berkebile


I always think about, "What's the worst that can happen? I don't get the project?"  
 
Over the past month I have struggled wit this, and came to the conclusion when calling leads who filled out a form on my site. They are the ones who downloaded my material and said they have a current business problem. If they entered their phone number (which they have to), then they are telling me to call them.  
 
I now start the calls with reiterating what they said their problem is, then provide an answer, which always leads in either one of our training programs or services.

posted on Friday, November 12, 2010 at 1:42 PM by Dave Hale


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