In the Performance Enhancement Quotient seminar, Chet Holmes advised business owners to do workshops with staff members (or alone if there's no staff). If you have access to the transcript or recordings, you can get his suggestions.
I've written different workshops below.
Holmes said workshops are important for establishing policies, plans & procedures (3 Ps). Businesses use policies, plans & procedures to develop tactics & strategies.
Tactics & strategies make a difference between lasting success & mediocrity.
When you hear & read about topics, do research. Gain deeper understanding by asking questions. For a fuller understanding, you can use a dictionary & thesaurus. Definitions & synonyms can prompt more questions & answers.
As you implement what you learn, evaluate results & determine how to do better. As conditions change, you'll need to prioritize subjects to keep up with competitors & satisfy customers.
Chet Holmes suggested keeping a workshop binder, so you can review results & notes. You should write your insights & track results, so you know what to improve. When you add questions, leave space for future answers.
You can return to a subject again, so you can progress by integrating new knowledge & experiences.
You can do workshops with other business owners.
You can use what I wrote below as a workshop template.
Workshop About Persuasion
Note - You can get some answers (to questions below) from lessons about consultative selling. You can adapt lessons to your situation.
* Persuasive people are liked & trusted.
Questions Pertaining To Being Liked & Trusted:
In your context, what does it mean to be liked & trusted?
What can you do to increase how much people like & trust you & your business?
How can you show you're in business to help people instead of just gaining more profits?
What can you do to show how products benefit customers?
What causes distrust in your business category?
* People are persuaded by those they respect.
Questions Pertaining To Respect:
In your field, what are traits of respected people? Which of those traits can you emulate?
What can you do to inspire respect?
What has caused anybody lose respect?
* People are persuaded by those who have authoritative knowledge.
Questions Pertaining To Authoritative Knowledge:
What does it mean to be an authority on a subject?
What would cause anybody lose status as an authority?
Which subjects should you have authoritative knowledge in?
Who is an authority in a similar subject? How did they gain that status? How do they show authority?
What are their information sources? Why are those sources considered to be authoritative? What makes their information valuable?
* People can be persuaded by those who care enough to understand them.
Questions Pertaining To Understanding People:
How do you show you're concerned about customers' best interests & preferences?
Some retailers might say anything to sell things. People are wary, so they might disbelieve seemingly glib statements & questions. How can you show sincere empathy?
Observe, ask questions & understand before advising. Use guidelines from Stephen R. Covey in "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People".
People live in cycles & buy at certain times. They might ask for information long before they're ready to buy.
They have limited budgets & various priorities. When a priority comes due & money is available, they'll buy. How should you guide people in setting priorities?
People might be unsure about timing. Some problems resolve or decrease even if people don't try to solve them.
People don't always know when to be patient or how long to wait. They need advice about what to do & when. They need advice about when to act quickly or slowly. How can you guide & reassure people?
In a store, people might be unsure about a few things. They might be shy about asking some questions. How can you determine what people are unsure about?
How can you determine if people are unsure about what they need/want?
If people want to think about a purchase instead of buying now, how can you help them think clearly without pressuring them?
If people aren't sure they should buy something for themselves, how can you encourage them to do what's right?
If people aren't sure how much money they should spend, how can you help them determine what's justified?
* People buy after they're attracted by a business.
Questions Pertaining To Attractive Traits:
What are attractive traits in your business category? Which of those traits does your business have?
How are you promoting those traits? What more can you do to promote those traits?
What can you do to enhance those traits? How can you create/adopt traits of similar businesses? How can you uniquely use those traits?
* People can be persuaded by those who share their concerns.
Questions Pertaining To Shared Concerns:
How can you show concern for customers' well-being?
How can you support their groups? How do you balance between supporting their groups & preserving profit & cash flow?
Which causes do they support? Which of those causes can you join?
How do you show your concern is authentic, not just for public relations?
Should you join or start a cause or group? Should you invite customers to be part of a good cause?
Should you start a club & invite customers to be insiders?
When a customer asks for deeper discounts, you can do some things without seeming to imply anything negative:
1- Do you explain your price policy? 2- Do you suggest a less expensive substitute or a different store?
3- Do you explain the product quality? 4- Do you suggest a layaway?
5- Do you suggest a bigger purchase of multiple products, even if they share it with friends? (If you get enough cash flow in a day, can you justify a mark down? It would reduce the markup on products, but increase your cash flow. You might clear out some old products.)
When people ask for donations, how can you do what's good for business & your community?
Do you arrange fund raising projects & donate a percentage when people buy some products?
How well do you fit into the community? How can you fit into the community better?
Workshop About Information & Plan Implementation
(Note: I have applicable questions & suggestions about diagnostic charts in previous posts. You can develop questions based on what your niche needs.)
Concept - How can you help people turn information into plans & implement those plans?
If you help people use a product, you might persuade them to buy it.
Ask questions to help people describe conditions, so you can diagnose problems they have & will have.
Ask people to bring pictures & videos of symptoms. Develop questions & diagnostic charts to guide people through what led up to a problem & what kind of solutions they'll accept.
Find & develop information about things people need to solve or prevent problems. Help them based on their current resources & determine what they lack.
Develop or find tutorials on planning according to their conditions & how to produce specific results.
Since tutorials can be for various skill levels, how can you help people adapt the instructions?
Decide how to present information about product benefits & tutorials.
How will you help people determine if they have necessary skills & other resources to do projects?
If they still need assistance after their best efforts, how will you help them find that assistance?
With your help, people can be confident enough to do projects & buy products.
If they can do tasks, you can help them prioritize how they use their time & energy.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2018 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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