Milton H Erickson :: JonathanManske.com

Scratch A Pig & Make More Sales

So often when we are selling, we forget to enter into the other person’s world. We do not meet them where they are at.

When we do this, we fail to connect with that person and to genuinely relate with that person. In fact, it usually makes them feel like we do not see them at all. Not surprisingly this tends to negatively impact our ability to sell.

Instead of meeting them where they are at, so often we stand over here madly waving our arms in the air yelling, “Yahoo over here! Over here is where the good life is at! Over here is where you want to be!”

This simply does not work.

The best way to get into the other person’s world is to be genuinely curious about that person.

* Who is he?
* What really matters to her?
* What makes him tick?
* How can I best serve her?
* What does he need?
* What kind of person is she?
* etc

Once we have met them in their world, we now have the possibility to lead them somewhere else. If we have not entered their world we do not have the possibility to lead them anywhere.

This story from Milton Erickson powerfully illustrates the value of getting in to their world.

Scratching Hogs
from My Voice Will Go With You: The teaching tales of Milton H. Erickson
by Sidney Rosen

One summer I sold books to pay my way through college. I walked into a farmyard about five o’clock, interviewed the farmer about buying books, and he said, “Young fellow, I don’t read anything. I don’t need to read anything. I’m just interested in my hogs.”

“While you’re busy feeding the hogs, do you mind if I stand and talk to you?” I asked.

He said, “No, talk away, young fellow, it won’t do you a bit of good. I’m not going to pay attention to you; I am busy feeding the hogs.”

And so I talked about my books. Being a farm boy, I thoughtlessly picked up a pair of shingles lying on the ground and started scratching the hogs’ backs as I was talking. The farmer looked over, stopped, and said, “Anybody knows how to scratch a hog’s back, the way hogs like it, is somebody I want to know. How about having supper with me tonight and you can sleep overnight with no charge and I will buy your books. You like hogs. You know how to scratch ‘em the way they like to be scratched.”
Milton entered the farmer’s world. Once the farmer identified Milton as a kindred soul, he began to relate to and interact with Milton in a completely different way. And, that included being ready to buy from Milton.

Next time you are in a selling situation, remember this story. Figure out how you can scratch that person’s pig.

Not only will you have a much better chance of making the sale, you will also enjoy the sales process much much more!

Intending great joy and success in all you do!

Jonathan Manske
Cerebral Sanitation Engineer

Are You Good Enough?

I have yet to meet someone who does not have some version of “I’m not good enough” going on inside their head. It seems to be part of the human experience.

Variations of “I’m not good enough” include: “I’m not okay”, “I’m not enough”, “Something is wrong with me”, “I don’t measure up”, “I’m not as good as”, “I cannot do/be like that” etc.

The majority of our struggles and suffering stem from this poor opinion of ourselves.

This usually shows up one of two ways:

1) We do things in order to prove this opinion wrong. The problem with this is that this self opinion is much deeper than any doing. We can do and do and it does not change the self opinion. Plus, when we do things in order to prove, there is always an underlying anger. This has physical, mental and emotional consequences.

2) We move into resignation and apathy. We don’t even try because we know we are not good enough anyway so why bother.

So, the bad news is that you have this negative self opinion. The good news is that any decrease in the amount of this negative self opinion results in an increase in your quality of life. (Read on to see how to do that).

What If?

These two words ~ “what if” ~ just might be the most powerful words in the English language. “What if” can turn any situation around. These words offer possibility, change and hope. They create curiosity, wonder and space for change.

You can use “what if” every time you catch yourself falling into that habitual negative self opinion. “What if I am good enough?” “What if I am already okay?”

Say these words right now and notice how your body responds. It is very freeing.

“What if” takes away all the strength of the negative self opinion. That is powerful stuff!

Milton Erickson

Milton Erickson is the man who made hypnotherapy famous. He was also an amazing healer. One of the things he was noted for was his use of stories, which through humor, shock, surprise or confusion helped his clients see their situation in a new way. (I highly recommend “My Voice Will Go With You: the teaching tales of Milton H Erickson” by Sidney Rosen).

One day Milton was brought into a prison to work with some of the inmates.

One young man was bad news. He was in prison for violent crimes and he was a problem inmate.

The only thing Milton said to him was, “What if you woke up tomorrow and everything was different.”

The other doctors who were observing Milton thought that this guy was too tough for even Milton.

Shortly thereafter, the young man’s behavior changed. He became a model prisoner and ended up getting released early for good behavior. He got married, had kids and became a productive member of society. All this from one “what if”.

What if?????