Specifics and Generalizations

I feel sorry for anyone in customer support.

When I'm looking for answers in support forums I often see questions like this, "I have everything setup correctly. Why isn't it working? What's wrong?"

That's the equivalent of saying, "I started my car and it's not running right. What's going on with it?"

Fortunately, they're not all that vague. But many are close.

Big generalized questions like this won't solve much. We have to get down to the details.

What kind of car? Year, make, model? Does it make a sound? When does it make the sound? Where is the sound coming from? When doesn't it make the sound? And more.

Selling is the same.

Many of us are big picture (generalizations) focused. When selling, we sell the benefits and emotions. These are big fluffy balls of vagueness.

Connection. Peace of mind. Freedom. Security. Control. Love. Happiness. More money. Health. Acceptance. Contribution. Family.

These are all big things with many, many different meanings, depending on who you ask.

And you need to ask and discover these hot button areas. These are critical.

They're also fun to sell. They hit emotions and make people feel good.

But you have to get into the details. When you want to make it real you have to dive deep into what your client will see, hear, and feel.

Walk them through the details. It brings it to life. Makes it vivid.

Becoming flexible with specifics and generalizations will accelerate your ability to influence. People want the generalized emotions and they need have the details filled in.

That's where you can make a difference.