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Say it without saying it

What happens if you need clients to understand something in order for you to do your job properly, but at the same time you have a clear ulterior motive for saying it?

Powering through the cringe and saying it anyway with a fake smile on is exactly what people don’t like salespeople, so don’t do that. It doesn’t really work in your case, anyway. Instead, do what Jesus did: tell them a story.

According to the evangelist Matthew, Jesus knew that people could not “see, hear and understand” the plain truth, so he wrapped his messages and lessons into stories called “parables” that convey the meaning indirectly by comparing or providing contrast.

Now, your stories are likely to be much more “down-to-earth” in character and involve less about lambs and the afterlife and more about the practical and important but difficult truths about your craft, but the technique is basically the same.

Human nature changes very slowly, and the modern crowd also likes to hear a relatable story more than they want to be told facts at face value, and then come to their own conclusions. The upside is, that once that “nudged” independent opinion is formed, they will be much less likely to change their mind at the last moment.

Try it out – next time you are cornered into saying something truthful but also cringy or too “salesy” just tell them a story instead.

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