Hey everybody, a couple of weeks ago, I talked to you about turning goals into reality. Actually having those goals accomplished and seeing how the goal, the plan, the strategy, the tactics all connected in a process so that you get more predictably realize the success that you dream about.
I wanted to share a little bit about a tactic today that sometimes people find hard to apply, but I have to tell you, it is truly one of the most powerful things I've ever learned in communication, and that is to give yourself a chance to get rescued. We've all been raised to fundamentally be the sharpest knife in the drawer or the most capable person in the room to never have the appearance of a lack of confidence, and sure, I'm all about being confident. I'm not asking you to go out and be a buffoon or an idiot. But one of the things that's most challenging in business development is that prospects are terrified of being sold. They don't want someone to come in and pull the wool over their eyes, walk away with a big fat check and then they wake up and realize that they got taken to the cleaners.
Nobody wants to be in that circumstance. So if you are old enough or you watch enough cable TV, you're probably familiar with the television show Columbo. Columbo's mastery was in his ability to make people think he was a non-threatening cop, that he wasn't smart enough to solve a crime, let alone a big time murder that was typically what each episode was about.
So I'm suggesting to all of you that you double down on the Columbo effect, which is to never look like you're where you want to be. Always look like you're lost or out of control and you'll be less threatening. People won't fear you. People will share information with you because they don't believe you can or would use it against them.
But the real magic of business development conversations is getting people comfortable enough to share information with you so you can learn to be strategically deaf. Could you repeat that? I'm not sure I heard it. Deaf. Dumb. When you say that. What do you mean? I am not sure I quite understand it. I'm not an expert in the field like you are.
If you can learn to be deaf, dumb and confused and learn to be as non-threatening as possible and do it strategically, you'll never have people afraid that you're taking advantage of them. They'll want to rescue you. And when people rescue you, they feel good about themselves, and they're more willing to share information with you and to make it easier for you to do your job.
If you want to go after everything and act like you have all the answers and you've never made a mistake and you are so buttoned up and tight about everything that they can't challenge a word you say, you're going to find yourself having a difficult time, having comfortable, confident, trustworthy conversations with the people that will give you the best opportunity to grow your business.
So look, take it from someone that's lived this life for a long time. Deaf, dumb and confused is a great way to get where you want to go and have people happy that they helped you get there. They saved you from yourself and who knows? They might pay you a lot of money for the privilege of doing so.
That's the message. That's this Friday's fast tip. Go out and apply it. And if you need to talk to me about it, you know where to find me. Take care and have a great weekend.
