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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)
A Sales Technique To Go With The Fact That The Wellness Lifestyle Reality For Most Is "I Can't Do It"
The other day, I suggested that wellness promoters, in fact, everyone, is in sales. We all sell one thing or another. Some make a living selling goods and services directly; the rest of us sell in other, roundabout ways. Not for a living -- just for survival and, if we're good at it, for happiness and prosperity. Yet, most folks don't even realize they are in sales. In important ways, we all are.
Many management-training organizations teach sales skills. Such continuing education programs contain methods and concepts that are applicable to selling ourselves and our ideas, as well as goods and services. One such skill or technique is "negative reversal." This method has been found helpful for times when a prospect seems reluctant to commit. Wellness promoters and others may find the reversal technique useful at times for encouraging healthier lifestyles. This is particularly so if explaining the reality notion described as "I Can't Do It."
Basically, "negative reverse selling" entails acting as if you, the salesperson or wellness promoter, are not sure the prospect should buy the product/concept (in other words, attempt to lose weight, become more fit, stop smoking or whatever). I know, it sounds heretical, possibly blasphemous and maybe unethical if not illegal. How often have you heard just the opposite from health educators, that is, "you can do anything?" You can't.
Here's the basic idea of negative reverse selling. When a prospect starts to object, the seller of the item suggests it might not be suitable, after all. Small barriers might be raised, or complexities noted. If the negative reverse is working, the prospect will show some interest, ask more information and, eventually, try to qualify for the product. That's the reverse. It's one way to turn things around, on occasions. Instead of pushing forward, you pull back. You hint that it might not be a good fit. In short, you lead someone else to decide "I can do it."
Naturally, there is an art to negative reverse selling. The technique takes time and practice. Analogies have been made to fishing -- tug too much and the fish might get away. Do it just right and you will get it on the boat. This is not to imply that wellness seekers are fish to catch.
Examples of reversal phrases are "maybe this is not for you," "this takes more work and dedication than most are able to invest" and "I'm not sure this is your style." Of course, "I Can't Do It" is in itself a negative reversal phrase. Negative reverse selling fits well with a related sales training idea for dealing with the prospect's underlying disquiet, foundational dysfunction or most simply, pain. One trainor asks, "Where is the pain?" This is a way of
exploring, from the prospect's perspective, what hurts, what problems might your product alleviate or solve? This is easy to see or at least discover in a wellness context. Here, a person may have weight worries, health concerns, be stressed or bored or just unhappy. Instead of turning to drink or religion, he is considering a better lifestyle. The interaction is your chance to steer him on the right track, even perhaps to save him from fundamentalism or skid row.
Questions should identify and confirm the pain. Usually, the first questions prospects ask are not related to the pain. You need to discover this to use negative reversal wisely. Some suggestions when using reverses like "I can t do it:"
- Only reverse at relevant or appropriate times. Don't overuse it.
- Reverse with a goal. Have an end point in mind.
- Stick with it. It usually takes at least three questions to get to the truth.
- Use a softening statement. This avoids abrupt or abrasive replies to a question and cushions the shock of not giving a direct answer.
- Don't repeat the softening remark (for example, "That's a key question" or "That's a significant concern...").
- Pay attention to all aspects of communication. Eye contact, posture, voice tone and modulation and gestures matter.
As Mark Fitzgerald (of the renowned Sandler Sales Institute, which pioneered many of the sales techniques described) explains, being effective at sales requires sensitivity to what someone is really saying: "Earth to salespeople: The world is full of people who want to buy what you sell. If you could get them to talk, they'd probably tell you exactly what they want and how to make a deal happen. Of course you'd have to be tuned in to the conversation. Unfortunately, with most salespeople that's a lot to ask."
My co-conspirator on promoting an "I can't do it" mindset to wellness promotion, Dr. Grant
Donovan, likes the sales methods but still does not think most can do it. After reading the essay, he commented: "The old reverse psychology trick may work well with certain products and services because people suffer most from a perception of relative deprivation -- the feeling that someone else has something they don't have. But, most people fail because, while they want it, they don't want to work for it. That's the real roadblock. People move away from pain and towards pleasure. Away from the stress and strain and ultimate meaninglessness of getting fit, towards the warm comfort of eating, watching and sleeping. So, I doubt if 'I can't do it,' which is less a psychology trick and more a statement of fact, will have any impact other than to confirm to people that they will, for the most part, live failing lives comforted by abundant food, minimal physical effort and a medically slowed death."
Be well. Always look on the bright side of life.
Domain: mentalSubdomain: factual knowledge
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