A few years ago, my then three-year-old daughter was attempting to pet a small dog named Bella. The dog turned around and bit her as hard as she could. There are a few relevant points about this experience. First, my daughter was not hurt--but she was scared. Second, my daughter is probably the sweetest, kindest, calmest little girl I know, but that did not matter. Finally, the biting incident has changed forever the way my daughter looks at dogs of all shapes, sizes, and types.
This is all Horace's fault.
A few years before this bite happened, Bella was happy, playful, and full of life. This small dog loved kids and was always ready to play fetch and get her belly rubbed. Then a boy named Horace moved in and started to torment the dog. Horace liked to take the Bella's toys and hide them rather than play fetch. And Horace enjoyed pulling ears and tails far more than rubbing bellies. Naturally, the dog became defensive. She learned to bark and snarl and started to look at children as if they were a threat. And Bella learned that proactively biting was the best way to keep bad things from happening to her. The dog did not know my daughter was kind and gentle-- and really the dog had no reason to care. Horace had changed the Bella's beliefs about children.
Salespeople like to see themselves as honest, caring, professional, and interested in creating valuable partnerships with their prospects and clients. These partnerships should lead to long-term relationships and are always based on honesty and trust. All too often however, Horace has gotten to our prospects before us. Horace convinces our prospects that price is all that matters, that everybody has poor service, and that salespeople are nothing more than vendors. They always have been vendors and always will be. When salespeople run into a prospect that has had a particularly bad incident with Horace, the prospect will often snarl and bite. The salesperson won't get hurt, but it will change the way they approach prospects going forward.
Part of the training we do is to help salespeople understand how to deal with prospects who have had tough visits from Horace. We help our clients learn to relate to their prospect's pain, build a more equal relationship, and create partnerships that Horace can't walk in and screw up.
Tired of ineffectively dealing with the mess Horace created?
We should talk.
Contact Matt Nettleton, Sandler Training, DTB at matt.nettleton@sandler.com or 317-695-8549.
