Facebook believed that sharing information freely was a beneficial thing for society and they successfully built their platform now used by some 2 billion users worldwide who bought into that idea. Recently, however, an unintended consequence of that business model has been the widespread use of Facebook by bad players who are exploiting that platform for the purposes of spreading uncertainty and chaos around the country.  As a result, Facebook is being attacked in the media and in Congress and its stock value plummeted $57 billion dollars two weeks ago. Ouch.

Unintended consequences can hurt, big time. I’ll leave it to Facebook to figure out its future, but their dilemma made me think of unintended consequences when it comes to selling and presenting.  Are you in danger of causing any of these?

Boring Listeners

You think you are wowing prospects with a presentation that is all about you, your company, your history, your mission, your services, your clients, your testimonials, etc.  You may think you are impressing listeners when all you are doing is boring them to death. Prospects care about themselves and how everything you say relates to them. It is not about you so much as it is about what you can do for them.  If you can’t make that connection, you lose.

Asking The Wrong Questions

You confuse information gathering with information understanding.  You ask so many factual questions about a person’s situation that you come across as an interrogator rather than as a potential problem solver. You are asking too many direct questions that require brief responses rather than open questions that lead to situational answers and a meaningful conversation. Prospects do not exist to give answers to a list of your specs. They want to feel that you understand their unique situation.

Rushing the Process

You are so eager to move forward in the sales process that you rush listeners to a decision before they are ready to commit to anyone, let alone you.  That usually sounds something like, “So, if there are no more questions, let’s get that contract signed!”  Much better to spend some time on discovering their decision making process, so that the next step–which may not be a signed contract right then–falls into their comfort zone. Work with them, not ahead of them.

Think It Through

No one wakes up every day with the intention of failing, but many people suffer unintended negative consequences simply because they do not think first before they act. Unintended negative consequences can be eliminated with a little pre-call thinking, planning, common sense, and, if needed, training.  Once trust is broken or a negative impression is made, it is very difficult to recover the sale or the relationship.  Never suffer those unintended consequences, when you do it right the first time.

Anne Miller

Random Recommendation

For an interesting and original analysis of the Facebook problem, check out Mark Zuckerberg is No James Madison in The Wall Street Journal.

  Make Sure Your Presentations Have Only Positive Consequences!

  Call today for individual coaching or team workshops and learn how to turn information that tells into a story that sells. 212-876- 1875   amiller@annemiller.com  

“Anne and I recently worked together on a speech I gave at a large conference. She helped me turn a series of somewhat interesting points into an expertly crafted, compelling and actionable story. Together, we built a storyline with attention-grabbing headlines. We worked and re-worked the language, making sure every word was important. Finally, Anne coached me on the delivery. The result was so exciting – I’ve never been so well received in a speech before. Thank you, Anne!” Kate Griffin, Vice President, CFED.org