By: Shantanu Das Sharma, Sr. Associate Editor, ICN Group
Quick recap of what we have covered in Part 31
Reframing: The Art of Changing Meaning
Content Reframing…
Context Reframing…
Reframe Your Life Experiences
How I Used Reframing to Turn Problems into Opportunities
Reframing Other People’s Experiences…a Truly Powerful Tool
Reframing in Sales and Business
Reframing: To Motivate Employees
Clients are not the only ones you have to reframe to win and keep. As a boss or a manager, you must constantly reframe the experiences of your employees in order to motivate them to become more productive.
At the height of an economic slowdown, when many of your client’s advertising budgets are slashed, many of your sales executives are demoralized as they believed that it would be much more difficult to secure new business, you could reframe the situation by saying, ‘It is actually easier for us to secure new business when times are bad. This is when companies would be more open to listen to ways we can use to help stretch their currency, and offer them better value for each of their advertising rupee.’ What’s more, you could tell your staff, ‘during boom times, companies will not entertain the idea of switching advertising agencies as they have plenty of money to spend and will generally be happy with their sales performance. It’s during lean times that companies will start looking around for a new ad agency that will help them stretch their reduced advertising budgets. This is where we come in.’
Why Being Rejected Motivates His Team Even More!
I have a friend who leads a team of highly motivated property agents. ‘What’s your secret?’ I asked one day. He told me that most sales people procrastinate taking action and getting sales because they fear rejection. ‘And your salespeople don’t?’ I asked. ‘Not at all! In fact, being rejected motivates them even more.’ he replied.
‘How do you do it?’ His sage reply: ‘By reframing the meaning of rejection! On average, they will be rejected 20 times before they get that first sale. Each sale they make averages them about Rs.1,20,000 in commissions. Therefore, as it takes 20 rejections to earn Rs.1,20,000, each rejection is worth Rs.6,000! So I tell them: every time a client rejects you, it means they are putting Rs.6,000 into your pocket.’ What a great reframe!
Advertising: Reframing the Minds of Millions
What I love about advertising is that it is basically reframing on a large scale. You are basically altering the perception and changing the meaning that people attach to your company and your product. Have you heard of Hertz, the car rental company? They are the market leader in car rentals in the US. Close behind is Avis car rentals. When Avis wanted to create a powerful advertising campaign, they asked the question, ‘How can we reframe the fact that we are number two into a power benefit to our customers?’
So they created a campaign with the theme, ‘Avis – – – –because we are Number 2, we try harder for you’. They reframed their second place to mean that they would go the extra mile for customers. It meant that they would make the extra effort to please their customers and exceed expectations? The result? Their sales and market share rose dramatically. Another great example is what Pepsi did in their advertising campaign against market leader Coke. Pepsi knew that they were less established so they decided to reframe the fact that they were new to an advantage. At the same time, they wanted to reframe coke’s position as the original, older cola into a disadvantage. That is how they came up with the line ‘Pepsi – The choice of a new generation’. They then used hip music artistes like Britney Spears and Robbie Williams to convey this frame of mind.
How to Overcome Resistance and Counter Objections
Reframing is also an extremely useful technique to use in dealing with objections from people. I have used this most often in the coaching & training I provide for professionals each year. Before reframing an objection, it is important to know that you should never resist or defend an objection. You must first show that you acknowledge that person’s opinion before using any kind of reframe.
First, acknowledge the Person’s Resistance or Objection by saying:
1) Yes, I agree that… or 2) Yes, I can understand that… or 3) Yes, I appreciate that…
Then, use the word ‘and’ or ‘at the same time’ to lead to your reframe. Be careful not to use the word ‘but’. The word ‘but’ tends to fire off immediate resistance from people, whereas ‘and’ is more effective in moving people towards a new direction. So, deal with an objection by saying, ‘Yes I agree that… (Objection), at the same time… (Reframe)…
Two examples of Reframing when encountering objections
- The client says, ‘I don’t need insurance now.’ You can respond by saying, ‘Yes. I understand that you don’t need insurance now. And that is why you need to buy it now because when you do need the benefits of a policy, you may no longer be able to buy it.’
- The client says, your product is very expensive. You can respond by saying, ‘Yes. I agree that my product is very expensive. And it is because it is of the highest quality and that will save you money in the long term.’
How would you reframe the following objections?
Take the time to do this next exercise.
1.The product is very expensive
2.Your company has no track record
3.Our budget has been cut this year
4.I am too busy
5.I have no money to invest
6.I don’t have the money
7.Your seminar class sizes are very small
8.Your seminar class sizes are very large
9.You have no experience
As you can see, the art of reframing is one of the most powerful language tools you can master. Use it to consciously to direct your internal representations and that of other people’s to create resourceful states and that will drive you to your desired outcome.
(I facilitate Thought Leaders, Change Makers; Professionals & Business Owners translate NLP concepts into actions to achieve and elicit personal excellence. I conduct NLP Lifestyle Coaching Certification programs for individuals, corporate and celebrity clients. In the next article, you will learn about Values: Your Driving Force. And after that you will come to know in subsequent articles, how you can utilize concepts of NLP+ in all walks of your life to replicate the success blueprint of a winner mindset to win through life. So, stay tuned every Monday & Saturday and fasten your seat belt to ‘Enhance Your Lifestyle With NLP+’)
Shantanu Das Sharma, Creator of the concept NLP Lifestyle Coaching with NLP+ and Founder of Neuromind Leadership Academy is an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author, NLP+ Lifestyle Master Trainer & Coach, Certified Social Panorama Consultant, Clean Language Facilitator & Strategic Interventionist. To explore about NLP+ Lifestyle Coaching you may visit http://shantanudassharma.com/nlp-lifestyle-coaching/
