The Story of Changing an Ecosystem
Arnold is the kid who’s always scared. They have a new teacher Ms. Frizzle, the younger sister of Dr. Frizzle, a researcher. Being new to class, she brought a whole new way of doing and learning things.
The story was about the ecosystem and how it changes. They talk about the danger of implementing new into the ecosystem as well as the benefit it can bring. So there was this invasive plant and Arnold wanting to get rid of it, left it on this magical island where their class went for an adventure. They went back to their time machine, 30 years in the future and everything was out of whack. Then they introduced bunnies on the island to eat the plant but the poor creatures went all crazy. So this whole ecosystem totally changed.
Now Ms. Frizzle was teaching Arnold about how not all things that enter an ecosystem can cause damage. She mentioned the idea of honeybees that were introduced to North America and how it helped the environment.
Application to Sales
Tying this back into the world of sales, there’s this idea that we don’t like changes.
1.Understand their current ecosystem.
As you present your product or solution to an organization, are you able to understand their current ecosystem? What is their current ecosystem? What current technologies do they have in place? Why do they have these kinds of processes?
Instead of focusing on your particular product or service, understand their current ecosystem in place.
2.Get the right people on board.
Some people are more open to change than others. For example, IT directors are sometimes not so inclined to a solution coming into their ecosystem when they didn’t agree to it (because finance or HR was the introducing it). Understand that IT has a system and they have their own processes. So when you try to come in and “mess up” their system, they try to derail the next steps.
Another example is the marketing department and sales teams. They have their own way of doing things and they may not want to get that change. Find out what their ecosystem is like. Try to find an internal champion to make it easier for you to transition into new changes.
3.Paint that vision for them.
Position your presentation in a way that you’re able to paint a picture of what it would be like if they had this kind of change introduced to them. Give them a vision of what’s to come.
Recognize that certain individuals have a stake involved in selecting a solution or service. So be delicate. Don’t bash what’s in place right now. But talk about what it could be like.
Paint the vision of what it would be like without insulting what they currently have.
Point out how they can enhance their job. Help make them look like the winner in the scenario.
Compliment them on the things they’ve done.
Today’s Major Takeaway:
Recognize your customers are human beings. And as humans, we don’t like change. Help mitigate that impact by getting them gradually into it. Paint that vision of what that new world can be like.
Episode Resources:
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