The gym I attend is by no means a meat market. There are few mirrors, and the clientle appears to be there to maintain and/or work on their health, not to see and be seen. And I noticed something amazing at the gym that I want to share with you.
On occasion, despite this not being one of 'those' kinds of gyms, I notice that I'll be on a stationary bike or elliptical machine going at my pace and then someone will get on the machine next to me. My response is not conscious. I automatically pick up my pace a little. It could be that my other than conscious wants us to show off a little at how good we're getting. Maybe it doesn't want to be out done.
I've noticed this happening in the other direction as well. When I step on to a machine next to someone who's been working out, I notice their pace pick up, maybe even slightly. We have an innate desire for competition and some of us embrace it, others don't. I love it. When I was working in sales, I constantly challenged myself with others' records--doubling and tripling what the very highest achievers were doing.
Watch any show on Animal Planet and you'll see how competition escalates as resources become limited. Animals (like humans) will compete for food, water, mates, territory, status. Humans further compete for money, oil, parking spots. Our economy is not based on trade or cooperation. It's based on the survival of the fittest. And once our long day of competing is over, we go home to watch other people compete--football, reality TV, game shows, beauty pageants. . . we can't get enough of competition.
My observation at the gym showed me that competition can be a huge incentive for self improvement. If I frame it as such, I can convince myself that by working out harder, showing them what I'm made of, I win. And really, everyone wins. We're all in a context where we are doing ourselves good (unless fanaticism plays a role and injury strikes).
As sales people, we can utilize this drive most effectively as we sell our products or services to our affluent prospects and clients. Just look at how gas stations compete. Say they're right across the street from each other and one is a nickel less than the other. Well, some people would automatically go to the cheaper one. But what if that station had a reputation for not having high quality product? I'm obviously not suggesting that you lower your prices, but notice the frame I just presented. Cheapness equals poor quality. How about trying this, 'I'm not the cheapest in town and, in fact, may be quite expensive, but you really do get what you pay for.'
What is your relation to competition? Do you embrace it or shy away from it?
Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to sell to affluent clients using
persuasion strategies. He runs unique public and private seminars and offers home study courses, audio/visual learning tools, and coaching programs in
persuasion techniques. Find more free articles at
www.MAXpersuasion.com/blog. Be sure to sign up for his free report entitled "Yes! Persuasion."
