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Let me tell you a story about eight-year-old Nancy, a student in
the public school system. One day during art class, Nancy
painted a picture. Considering her age and development as a
young artist, the picture of a house and the setting sun was
really quite good. However, it was obvious that the picture was
unbalanced. Nancy had painted the house and the sun to the left
side of the canvas.
Nancy's art teacher, who held a master's degree in art, observed
the picture and said, "Nancy, this is really a fine painting.
But, it needs something on the right side." And with that, the
teacher picked up a brush and painted a seagull in the upper
right corner of the canvas. Nancy became very upset and began to
cry.
That evening at the dinner table Nancy was still upset. Her
father asked, "What's the trouble, Nancy?" The little girl
replied, "Nothing," but her pouting face encouraged her father
to continue pressing the issue. Finally, Nancy showed her father
the pain! ting. He admired it and said enthusiastically, "This
is very good, Nancy. I really like the seagull." At that, Nancy
burst into tears and ran off to her bedroom.
After Nancy's father learned that the seagull was the source of
her unhappiness, he complained to the art teacher who, in her
own defense, cited her reasoning and her credentials. Getting
nowhere with the teacher, Nancy's father visited the school
principal, and then he contacted his attorney. One battle
followed another and eventually both parties ended up in court.
It was a long, drawn out trial with many hours of testimony
about the freedom of expression, the role of an educator, and so
on.
Having listened intently as both sides told their stories, the
judge turned to Nancy and asked why she had become so upset
about the seagull. Nancy replied, "Because I did not see it
there."
Case closed; decision in favor of Nancy.
So what's the seagull have to do with selling? Your prospects
have a mental picture of their needs even before they meet you.
Every change or addition you make to their picture may cause the
prospects to become uncomfortable, even unhappy, like Nancy. If
it's necessary to make a change in a prospect's mental picture,
you'll be wise to let the prospect "discover" the need for the
change.
You might think that certain features or benefits of your
product or service would help you close a sale if only your
prospect knows about the features or benefits. But it would be a
mistake to paint a seagull in your prospect's picture.
Instead, "dummy up." Ask a few questions designed to find out if
your prospect would like a seagull in his / her picture. If so,
all to your advantage. If not, no damage done.
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