Hi, Rocco salespeople. This module is entitled The struggle technique. Now look, you may feel a little uncomfortable as I describe this technique and be a little reluctant to put it into practice. But it's one of the most powerful set of techniques that I know of. I myself had a little trouble with it. Years and years ago when I first learned it.

It didn't take me long though, to figure out that it was really worthwhile using and it became a, you know, an integral part of my repertoire. So the first thing I want to talk about is some basic theory. We want the prospect at all times to feel okay. So let me describe it Okay, feeling it means. I mean, the prospect is confident they're in control, they feel they feel positive about themselves, they feel bulletproof. Now, if the prospect doesn't feel that way, they're likely to get rid of you.

So you If they feel intimidated or threatened in any way, or pressured or free, they feel stupid or confused or vulnerable. They're going to want to get out of that situation. It's just a human reaction. The actual human rule that rule that governs human behavior is that, you know, people want to feel okay. And one of the ways they get to feel okay about themselves is to find somebody else more not okay than they are. So we're going to take advantage of that rule by in in especially in the paints that pretending to be a little bit not okay, on purpose.

And this is the part that people have a lot of trouble with. And that's the pretending to be a little bit not okay on purpose. But look, doctors do this all the time. You know, when when they're in the diagnosis phase. Sometimes they're a little confused. You come in with some symptoms that don't seem to make sense.

And they're going to say things like, wait a minute. You're you're left hurts when you stand on your right foot that I don't quite get that. Let's try the other way stay on your right foot what happens then? Or what happens when you do this or this has happened every day. So they're asking you questions. And they're they're a little bit confused as water in the water in that pain stuff.

So look, we want to pretend to be a little bit not okay on purpose and I'll give you some some ways to do that in a second. But, but, but first, what I want to do is say one thing you have to really avoid is trying to be the smartest person in the room. You know, you're there and you're the expert, you know everything and they know nothing. And, you know, that makes them feel intimidated. That makes them feel not okay and they don't want to feel about Okay, so they will get rid of you, even at their own expense, even if they kind of know that you could help them still say well, I don't really like that. This guy they may not know why.

So look, if you're ever in a sales call was going along great and then all of a sudden, the prospect guy called, it's probably because you violated this okay? not okay. Principle. Now look, here's level one, here's the first thing you can do is just don't make them feel not okay. Keep them feeling okay that way. At least don't send them into the knot.

Okay? But look, if you set out to make them feel not okay, here's how you could do it. This is what you want to do what this is what you do is sometimes inadvertently, you can use jargon or buzzwords or, or start talking in language they don't quite understand. You know, they they go, huh. You know, instinctively they say, Well, I don't know what he's talking about, but they don't feel like they can say well, I don't know what you're talking about. But this is even true when you're in talking to technical people.

If you're going to start using words, make sure that that you're that you're using words that that they are Understand, if you're talking in the C suite Do not be using too many too much technical language, they may not really understand it. So the other thing is you don't want to be condescending. Sometimes it can be a physical thing that will make them feel not okay. If you're happen to be six foot seven in your prospect is five foot three. Right? That can be a problem.

All right. So you know, you want to mitigate that as much as possible by sitting down so at all times, you're worrying about what he's not worrying about it but you want to be concerned that your prospect is feeling okay. Now, how can we do it? When we're, you know, how can we use the technique? When we're when we're, we want to do it on purpose. Here's some words you can use.

Just use the words help me can you know Jewish Can you help me out a little bit? I didn't quite understand what you just said. Look, you may not be able to do it. may not think you'd be able to do it. But and but when the prospect says something you don't understand, then it's a perfect time to do it, you know, and I'll say, Hey, I'm a little confused. But can you go back and say that again?

Or could you explain that a little bit more looks? It's just as much the physiology of the body language as it is the tonality. tonality. So I'll say sometimes it look maybe it's just me but could you back up a little bit and say that again, but this goes slower? Right? And it sounds kind of crazy on a on a tape like this, but, but I'll tell you in real life, they say okay, fine.

Now, here's what you find out. They say it again, but they say it in different way because they take responsibility that they didn't understand it properly. What's the purpose of this tactic? The purpose is not just to make them feel not okay. But it allows you to be vulnerable so that they fit you know, they feel okay and they feel it's okay. They can Go ahead and, and trust you and give you this information.

You know, there was a famous TV detective that that made this famous, right? Columbo he you know he would he would pretend to be who you think he pretended to be a little bit not okay on purpose now I'm I suggest you go out buy a wrinkly raincoat and look all the shovel but but you know, it's just you can struggle from the perspective of, of not being sure what they meant and you can be struck from the perspective of knowing too much. For example, somebody said, you know, when was the second world war? I mean, somebody who didn't know too much could say, well, like 1941 and 1945. Somebody who was a PhD in history might say, okay, the second world war All right, well, you know, it depends on Well, if you're talking about when the US got in, you know, it's obviously in 1941, but then it was really going on before we got there, right in the 30s.

You know, some people say, you know, actually started when Hitler came to power But then a lot of people talk about the Versailles Treaty being the, you know, at the end of the first one, we're being sowing the seeds. See, see what I mean? I'm just trying to demonstrate that. Well, I'm not really sure how to answer that. I mean, I could say this, or I could say that. So I'm struggling as I.

So So that's my point. I know I'm almost struggling trying to explain this to you. So where do you use this tech? You'll use it in the pain funding stage. It's really useful there. But you can use it just about anywhere.

I'll explain a couple places where you don't use it, but you want to find out the decision process and say, wait a minute. I thought I thought I thought a little while ago you told me you were the one that was going to make the decision. Now you're telling me that Charlie has to see it. Oh, okay. So you still use it in that in that please don't use it in the money in the money. When you're talking about money, so it just any place.

Look when it's really easy to use when you really are confused. If you think that they said something that's contradictory. It's, you know, you said, Wait a second, wait a second. I've had this one myself. I'll say, wait a minute. A few minutes ago, you told me that your salespeople were really good.

And they're, you know, you were happy with them. And now you're telling me that your sales aren't where you want them to be? So I'm a little confused about that, that they don't seem to match. And they'll say, oh, and then they'll either explain how there's a piece of data you're missing. Right? Or they'll, they'll go Oh, yeah, you're right.

Okay, maybe that is maybe I need to explain myself a little more. So you can use it when you have to ask tough questions, right, something like, Okay, I have to ask a really tough question, but I don't know how to ask it without getting upset, so I'm struggling to even ask the question. And generally they'll say that's alright, just go ahead, ask me. You can use it just about anywhere except You do not use it when you're in the presentation step. So it's now time for me to explain how we are going to solve this problem I just spent the last hour or the last year and a half uncovering right? Is is not a time to use the struggling technique.

This is a time to be enthusiastic, positive, excited to say, Look, I know we can fix that problem. Let me explain how we're going to do it. We have this, this, this, this this, and I'm going to do it without any kind of struggle. I mean, even if you're even if you're not sure you can do it. It's not a good idea to struggle in that particular venue. Again, the only place you don't want to use it is when I'm trying to make a case you do not want to sound like well.

I'm pretty sure that we could get this done by Tuesday. I mean, you want to when the client says can you get this done by Tuesday, you don't want to struggle with that you say absolutely. We'll get it done by Tuesday. Now, that's assuming that you can actually get it done by Tuesday. Right. So again, Struggling technique is very, very important, especially when you use it in conjunction with the push away technique, push away and struggle at the same time.

I think if you go back and watch the, the the push away technique, you'll notice the struggle. I think when I tell you to watch the body language, and watch the tonality, that's what I'm telling you to watch. If you're watching this struggling as I like, push them away.