For those of you that know me you would probably be aware of the fact that I am fascinated by the way our brains operate.  I am on a personal journey of self-improvement that crosses many aspects of my life including my profession and wanted to share some insights from a fantastic book called 'Switch, How to Change Things When Change is Hard' by Chip and Dan Heath.

Apparently this book has been out for a few years, but I had missed it (thanks to Greg over at Sparring Mind for the list of books) - it dovetails in with the other reading that I've been doing (Habits, Willpower, Persuasion, etc.) and the efforts that I've been making in incorporating this information in to my sales calls, proposals, and copywriting.

Before I get into 'Switch' I should probably note that I generally detest self-help books and sales books.  Most of these books are written to appeal to desperate people or people grasping for answers (self-help) or sales people (usually managers) that are looking for the 'secret formula' that will magically improve their sales numbers.  Nothing wrong with looking for answers or improving sales (obviously, after all I focused on doing the same things), but many of these books have little basis in science and haven't been tested (other than through the author's 'personal experience'.)

What I like about the work that's been done over the last few years is that scientists (and writers like the Heath's that are focused on using scientific studies and results) are finally catching on to the fact that people do want to improve, but they want to do so in ways that actually work.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve, but there is something wrong with wasting time following instructions that haven't been tested and turn out to be ineffective.

I'll put some additional posts up that talk about some of the other excellent pieces that I've read recently - it's odd how many of these things actually reference the same studies and fit nicely together - for example, building habits, managing willpower, and the process for change described in 'Switch' all support one another...

So.. 'Switch'.  Chip and Dan Heath have written a book that takes a look at scientific studies that have focused on how to effectively manage change.  Change is something that is generally not an easy thing to do - even when we want to change our brains tend to fight the change.  We like things to stay the same - it's safer, it's known, and it's easier.  Changing is difficult, both as people and as organizations (and aren't organizations just collections of people after all) - this book examines what has been shown to work in terms of successfully executing change.

What I found interesting about both the book and their 'process' is it's almost as applicability to the selling process as to the process of 'change'.  Change is, after all, really a sales process - you need to establish a goal (closed sale) and follow a process through to completion.  While the overall sales process may be static, each individual sale will have it's own nuances and certain aspects of the sales process may be more important than for other clients (a reason why sales processes are meant to be followed - you don't always know what will end up being the important area for each client.)

The process described in 'Switch' is very similar - they lay out the change process, a three-step exercise, that has several strategies to employ within each of the three steps.  The 'Switch' process is really a sales process - you need to provide concrete reasons for someone to change (or buy), provide emotional attachment to the change (or your solution), and make the change path (or the ability to choose your solution) as easy as possible.....

Where the book really excels is in providing concrete strategies (supported by actual science - can I say this enough?) that work.  The stories highlight how one might employ each strategy in an effective manner and, although not really written for the sales audience, are fairly transferable to our profession.

At the end of the day, when we are selling to a new prospect we are pushing a change process - they are currently buying from someone else, solving their problem in another way, or choosing not to address their pain (they do have a pain that you are trying to solve, right?).  You are interrupting their day and asking them to make a change and, as the Heath brothers discuss in some length in the book - change is not something that one just decides.  It needs to be felt and it needs to be as easy as it can be in order for it to work.

The book uses a metaphor of an elephant, it's driver, and the path that they are on.  The driver is the analytical brain - the part of their person that makes decisions based on facts and figures.  The elephant is the emotional self - the part of us that likes things the way that they have always been.  The path is the path that you want to go down (the change in question).  The driver, although able to direct the elephant when in control is often not in control - the elephant doesn't really have to do what the driver says.

The real trick in any change (or sale) is to first get the driver to understand, clearly, what should happen and the quantitative reasons behind why it's a good idea.  What's the ROI?  How much money does this save them?  What is the percentage of efficiency gained?

Establish that it logically makes sense to make the change and then set targets.  What does the person need to do?  What's the goal?  Give them a clear picture of what conditions need to be met to reach a 'success.'  Make the reasons clear and make the target situation/condition clear.

You can't stop with the driver...  The elephant also needs to be engaged and really needs to feel why the change (or sale) is the right thing.  Not the logical 'why', but the feeling that the change is necessary.  Really really necessary.  Shock can help here.  Using powerful and emotional language and imagery can be useful here as well.  You want the 'elephant' to emotionally identify with the change and that new condition you set out for the 'driver.'  And you need to do this without scaring the elephant.  Fear of change is bad.  Fear of not changing might be useful, but fear of change is bad.

In addition to addressing both the emotional and logical aspects of change, do your best to adjust and/or structure the 'path' to be as simple as possible.  If you are trying to eat fewer snacks at night, throw them all away and you won't have to resist anything - you just won't have the option of snacking....  In sales think terms and conditions, pricing, an easy on-boarding process, getting others in the prospects organization to support the decision, having partners in the account support your position, etc.  Make your decision the 'easy decision'...

In my case, I have to admit that I tend to focus most often on the driver when first approaching a prospective client or business partner.  It's how my own brain works - while I certainly make emotional decisions like everyone else, I tend to focus heavily on the 'whys' when making decisions in my personal life.  I tend to be an analytical person (at least I like to think I am...) and have always wondered why some prospects make obviously stupid decisions and don't choose the solution that I'm presenting :).  Over the years, I've learned that I can't just appeal to their inner-Spock.  I need to make them feel why our solution is the best to solve their problem (I wouldn't be pushing it if I didn't believe that it was the right solution).

After reading 'Switch' and doing some soul-searching on my own process I realized that this understanding, while still there, tends to slip when under pressure.  In other words, I revert more quickly to the highly analytical sale when under-the-gun, moving away from the emotional side.  I need to be more diligent and build some simple checks into my sales process to ensure that I'm not ignoring this side of the client relationship.

I spend a lot of time and energy trying to do the right thing for our clients.  I'm even happy to walk away from a project or a relationship where we can't deliver the right solution or we just aren't a fit for the client.(OK, I'm not happy about it, but it's the right thing to do...)  I honestly feel that we're going to be delivering the right solution to solve their business problem.  I need to make sure that our prospects also feel that we are doing the right thing and presenting the right solution.

To return to the book itself - go buy it.  This is a fantastic book written by two authors that are able to turn the information and the data into something that is both compelling and interesting (and I dare say 'entertaining') to read.  Great book - two thumbs up.  In fact I'm in the process of reading their previous book, 'Made to Stick', right now and liking it a great deal as well....