|
June 25,
2010
What's a Ferrari For
 How
many of your clients buy the full range of your services or
products? Probably fewer than you would like. It is very
frustrating to be aware of what clients could be getting in
value if only they would invest more with you, not to mention
how much better it would be for your bottom-line.
That
was Kelsey’s situation. Kelsey works for a leading high profile
financial services firm. He deals at very senior levels in
Fortune 500 companies. He is a seasoned expert at what he does,
enjoys his work, and has excellent personal relationships with
his clients. But, it bugs him that they pay premium prices and
some of them don’t do more business with the firm.
One
day, in conversation about doing more business with his firm, he
became so frustrated with the client that he said, “Look, Joe,
you’re paying for a Ferrari in our service and all you do is use
it to drive to the grocery store. That’s not what a Ferrari
is for!”
To
his surprise, the client actually stopped to consider what that
really meant and then began a conversation to explore broader
ways to use the “Ferrari” services Kelsey’s firm offers.
Take-Aways
When we are frustrated or angry, we sometimes swear, but where
swearing is not appropriate, we usually reach for a metaphor to
express our feelings or point of view (Angry Mom to teens:
“What do you think I am--your maid?” Driver stuck in traffic to
friend on cell: “I’m sitting in a damn parking lot!”) Get
frustrated enough about a situation and the apt metaphor might
appear that you can use when you are face to face with the
client.
Can
you use a version of Kelsey’s metaphor with your clients who are
not taking full advantage of your premium services?
See you next month!.
Anne
Miller
Make What You Say, Pay — With Metaphors.
Flex Your Metaphor
Muscle
How would you describe someone who leaves a
company to go to work for another organization whose goal is to
investigate the former employer?
Gary Gensler, a former partner at Goldman Sachs for 18 years is
now the head of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
looking to reform the trading of derivatives, a major source of
profit for Goldman.
Time magazine
characterized Gensler as “a little like the safecracker who goes
to work for the cops.” Irony, perhaps a bit of betrayal, at
least to the GS people, and a turn of Fortune’s wheel –all
communicated in a single image. .
Check Out...
- Latest blog:
Negotiating Fatal Slip of the Tongue can cost
you plenty!
www.annemiller.com/blog
-
Switch:How to
Change Things When Change is Hard.
By Chip Heath & Dan Heath. If you ever doubted
the premise of this newsletter or
Metaphorically Selling, then read this
book. Their message is simple: people will not
change when they (left brain) know something
until they can (right brain) “see it”
which leads to feeling, which motivates behavior
change. Highly readable and entertaining.
|
