Greg Bennett Sales Blog

Using the Confusion and Clarification Forces in Sales - Part 3 in My 4-Part Series

Now that I've introduced the two "forces" - Confusion and Clarification, it's time to review how we can use them in the sales process.  By the way, this is the third segment of my four-part series. (Parts 1 & 2 can be found by looking in the Categories in the right side bar of the blog, under Confusion)

The Power of Confusion and Clarification

Part 1:  Confusion as a Force
Part 2:  Clarification as a Force
Part 3:  How to Use Confusion and Clarification in Sales
Part 4:  Forming Deeper Relationships With Confusion and Clarification

Part 3: How to Use Confusion and Clarification in Sales --  In this segment I'm going to cover the various ways  we can use these two forces to prospect and close more business.  Note:  We don't have the room to cover specifics on exact scripting we would use in each area within sales, we may do that at a later point, but this should give you an overview of the many opportunities to put these forces to work.

In Prospecting:

• To get past screeners...we're confused about who we need to be talking to
• To  reach higher level decision makers...we're not sure how the hierarchy works
• To gather information...we're missing some information and need some help
• To drop the prospect's suspicious nature...we just want to make sure no one dropped the ball

In Sales Meetings:

• We're confused about words and phrases the client uses...what does "pretty happy" mean, Tom?
• We're needing clarification on the goals and objectives...clarify for me where exactly you want to end up with this, Janet
• We're confused about objections and stalls...your mind seems made up Jackie, can you talk more about where you are in the process?

In Closing:

• We're not sure why the client can't take action on a small "mini-step"...I'm curious Will, what is stopping us from at least locking down the tentative start dates?
• We're trying to figure out the real objections beneath the surface...I'm a little confused Billi, it seems you want to tell me something kind of ugly, but you're afraid it will harm our relationship...how accurate is that?

The biggest challenge we have is not in finding enough opportunities to use confusion and clarification in sales (there are plenty), it's in remembering to USE them ON PURPOSE.

If you refer back to part one of this series, I mention that it's not easy to do something on purpose when it goes against our natural instincts (remember the example of the clown in the ice-capades having to look out of control on skates?).  We want to look smart...we want to appear knowledgeable... we're excited about our product and what it can do...so our instincts are to talk, talk, talk, tell, tell, tell...and NOT to be confused.  In fact, we feel that being confused may be a sign of weakness, or make us look stupid.  THE EXACT OPPOSITE IS TRUE.  The more you don't know, the more the client MUST participate to clarify Your confusion.  And when they do they talk more (and you listen more)...they think YOU'RE SMARTER! 

Your assignment is easy...just don't get it!  When clients talk, you don't get it.  When they use words with multiple meanings, you don't get it.  When you get stuck, you don't get it.  And when you don't get it, you'll be showing confusion (and using the confusion force)...which will trigger the client's  need to clarify (the clarification force).

In the last part of this series I'll be reviewing how we can use confusion and clarification to build stronger long-term relationships.

Now go out there and understand NOTHING.

GB

The Clarification "Force" - Part 2 In My 4-Part Series

I've been doing a great deal of thinking and writing (and hope to write a book on the subject) about what I'm calling the "Confusion Force" ... and the accompanying "Clarification Force" ...and how certain people learn to use these powerful forces to control certain situations and outcomes.

I'm writing a 4-part series called The Power of Confusion and Clarification

Part 1:  Confusion as a Force
Part 2:  Clarification as a Force
Part 3:  How to Use Confusion and Clarification in Sales
Part 4:  Forming Deeper Relationships With Confusion and Clarification

Part 2: Clarification as a Force --  Just as a I see confusion as a "force" that can be used on purpose to get a certain result, I also see the act of "clarifying" that confusion as a force (working in tandem with confusion) in human interactions and communication.

Clarification is basically the act of clearing up confusion. 

There appears to be a deep need in humans to clarify our own confusion, as well as confusion others may be going through.

And usually confusion isn't a pretty place to be...we don't like being confused, it causes anxiety and stress...and it also causes us to act in ways we normally wouldn't to try and either get out of the state, or just pretend it will go away.   When we're confused and in need of clarification we may:

• Take impulsive action
• Over-react
• Freeze and not act at all
• Go into strong denial act in an opposite way

Now think about these actions (or non-action) responses to confusion, and think about being in some sort of contest or battle with an "opponent".  It could be in a sporting event, where the opponent is the other player or other team...or on the battlefield, where the opponent is the other general or other army...or even as a magician, where the the opponent is the logic of the audience in front of you...or in a sales situations, where opponent is a prospective client.  Wouldn't it be powerful to know that I may be able to confuse my opponent, and in doing so could cause him to act or react in certain ways?  I may cause him to act impulsively.  I may cause her to over-react. I may cause him to freeze and go into panic mode.  And when the opponent acts in these ways, it may give me an opportunity to accomplish what I want.

When there is confusion, there is a need for clarification.  The two forces work together, and we can learn to use this need to our advantage in the sales process. And I'll review specifically how we use these two forces in Part 3 of this series coming in the next few days.

Thanks for reading the blog and I hope you find this information useful.

GB

Confusion and Clarification - the First in the Four-Part Series

I've been doing a great deal of thinking and writing (and hope to write a book on the subject) about what I'm calling the "Confusion Force" ... and the accompanying "Clarification Force" ...and how certain people learn to use these powerful forces to control certain situations and outcomes.

This is the first in a Four Part Series I'm writing on The Power of Confusion and Clarification

Part 1:  Confusion as a Force
Part 2:  Clarification as a Force
Part 3:  How to Use Confusion and Clarification in Sales
Part 4:  Forming Deeper Relationships With Confusion and Clarification

Part 1: Confusion as a Force -- Let's start with Confusion...confusion is basically a state where we're not certain what is going on...or what we do know may not be right...perhaps we lack information...or we have too much information... or we're just "drawing a blank" altogether.

We can be confused, and we can confuse others.

And usually confusion isn't a pretty place to be...we don't like being confused, it causes anxiety and stress...and it also causes us to act in ways we normally wouldn't to try and either get out of the state, or just pretend it will go away. 

• We may take impulsive action
• We may over react
• We may freeze and not act at all
• We may go into strong denial act in an opposite way

Now think about these actions (or non-action) responses to confusion, and think about being in some sort of contest or battle with an "opponent".  It could be in a sporting event, where the opponent is the other player or other team...or on the battlefield, where the opponent is the other general or other army...or even as a magician, where the the opponent is the logic of the audience in front of you...or in a sales situations, where opponent is a prospective client. 

Wouldn't it be powerful to know that I may be able to confuse my opponent, and in doing so could cause him to act or react in certain ways?  I may cause him to act impulsively.  I may cause her to over react. I may cause him to freeze and go into panic mode.  And when the opponent acts in these ways, it may give me an opportunity to accomplish what I want.

Isn't this what magicians do?  They confuse us by having us look at one hand while other hand is doing something else.  The same with generals on a battlefield; they may fake an attack on the left flank, cause chaos and confusion, while sneaking around the right flank to go for the kill.  Coaches also use confusion with fake formations, and fake handoffs...or use decoy receivers...all to confuse the opposition into taking action and opening opportunities elsewhere on the field.

You may be thinking, "Greg, what does all this confusion stuff have to do with sales?"  Well...everything actually.  Confusion is one of the main tools or strategies I try to teach whenever I teach selling skills.  But first we must see confusion as a tool....as a force...as something to be used on purpose to get certain results.

I emphasized "on purpose" in the last sentence because it's important to understand that there are certain things we can and should be doing "on purpose" during a sales call to solicit certain responses. 

But before we can even go there...we have to take a step back and think about doing anything "on purpose"...what does that little phrase mean?  When you were young and you'd do something to a sibling during a family road trip, your mom would turn around to the back seat and say, "Now you took that from her on purpose...just to make her cry".  Basically we did something with some pre-thought, or pre-conceived idea, as to what we wanted to make happen.  We thought about it and acted accordingly.

We'll get more into how to use confusion in the sales process in Part 3 of this series, but for know just realize that it is a tool we can and should use in order to accomplish what we want.

Confusion IS a "Force"...but only because of another "force" I call the "Clarfication Force", basically the need we have to clarify our state of confusion, or to help others clarify their confusion.  We'll cover this powerful concept in Part 2 of this series.

Thanks for reading the blog and I hope you find this information useful.

GB