The daily blog from Seth Godin is one of the first things that I read every work day. Today's post, as many of his do, hit me square between the eyes.
In his post, Godin wrote that there are "five true statements we don't hear very often." Those statements are:
1. "I don't care enough to do what you're asking."
2. "I don't trust you enough to hear you out."
3. "I don't believe it's worth what it will cost in time, money or risk."
4. "I'm afraid of the changes it will cause."
5. "I don't believe that I'm the kind of person who can do this."
In this past year of consulting, I haven't heard any of these statements voiced directly to me. But I absolutely have experienced every one of them.
As Godin writes, people often talk about features, quality or budget, which all may be genuine but usually are a simple way to stall until time runs out.
Wouldn't we all be better off - on both the buy side as well as the sell side - to simply state the truth?
If we heard any of these statements, we could do a more effective job of counseling and bringing ideas to the table. Or, we could simply say "thank you" and move on to our next opportunity.
Let's push for more true statements.
