Focus Supplement 2 - Summer 2017 - 20

FEATURESTORY

The big "ah-ha" in
this step is to
see things through
the other person's
eyes and frame your
arguments to appeal
to them.

20

problem? Does he want to change? What drives
him and motivates him to succeed? How does
he perceive his ability to be successful? If he
could be more successful, how would that help
him achieve his personal goals and objectives?
Does Steve really have a closing problem or is
this a byproduct of another gap such as
inadequate strategic planning, or failing to
engage the customer in dialogue? Does Steve
make assumptions about the customer's
commitment or does he test the customer's
readiness to commit by asking a trial
close?
is step takes time and
preparation. And here is where
Nicole's eﬀorts could be derailed.
In the back of her mind, she hears
her DM's voice telling her to only
"take a half-day oﬀ territory and
work with Steve to fix his closing
problem." Given this time restriction,
Nicole might be tempted to simply
provide a solution for Steve, rather than work
with him on the necessary behavioral change.
e big "ah-ha" in this step is to see things
through the other person's eyes and frame
your arguments to appeal to them.
Nicole should share her specific
observations of what Steve is doing
well and encourage him to
intentionally do more of it. She
should also highlight specific
behaviors she has observed that
may be holding Steve back, inviting
discussion and encouraging honest
feedback from him. By tailoring her
recommendations through Steve's eyes and
packaging them in a way that shows Steve how
changing will help him achieve the things he
wants for himself, Nicole is demonstrating
best-in-class influencing behavior.
To master a new behavior, it's most
eﬀective to connect a new behavior
to something you're already doing
well that you want to keep doing.
For instance, Nicole observes that
Steve is not testing the customer's
readiness to commit by asking a
trial close, but that he is proficient at
delivering clinical messages and
getting buy-in from the customer on the
significance of the data. She recognizes that

because the customer agrees with the data
presented, Steve assumes the customer will
connect the dots between the clinical study
results and the desired patient outcomes. Steve
hopes that this will result in increased
utilization of his product. But, hope is not an
eﬀective sales strategy: Trial closing is.
Aer pointing out what Steve is doing well,
Nicole explains that he's not connecting the
customer's buy-in of the data to something the
customer may want to achieve in his or her
own practice. She suggests that every time Steve
delivers a clinical message he remembers to ask
the customer's opinion on whether these
clinical results are consistent with what he
wants for his own patients. Nicole points out
that if the physician says, "Yes," Steve should
pivot to asking him to prescribe and then
review steps for streamlining patient access. If

To master a new behavior,
it's most effective to connect
a new behavior to something
you're already doing well that
you want to keep doing.
the answer is "No," Steve can ask, "Why is
that?" e answer will tell Steve what his next
incremental goal should be for this customer.
By linking the behavioral change Nicole
seeks to influence (asking for a trial close) to
something Steve is already doing well
(delivering clinical data) she has made it easy
for Steve to say "yes" to the change. And she has
provided a simple process to make it stick.
Nicole cannot be successful at influencing
Steve without balanced emotion. Steve must
believe that Nicole's commitment goes beyond
her need to comply with what her DM has
asked her to do. If Steve perceives that Nicole
genuinely cares about his success, believes in
his ability to achieve his goals, and is his
partner in helping him to achieve them, he will
give discretionary eﬀort to fulfill Nicole's belief
in him and live up to her expectations for his
success.
is is oen referred to as "Pygmalion
Management." A sculptor in Greek mythology,
Pygmalion, carved a statue of a beautiful

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Supplement 2 - Summer 2017
