Wake Up and Smell the Data

From a customer perspective, is it possible that people simply no longer respond well to the transparency that we have been told they are desperately seeking? Would they prefer the fast answer that fits better with their existing idea of truth rather than the facts? And are they looking for problems and not solutions?

RELEASING THE AROMA OF TRUTH

When I was a recent guest on a radio show, my pre-air discussion consisted of good news on the business front, but my interviewer told me they were really looking for material that would justify listeners’ already existing belief of injustice. She said it just like that, with no hesitation. And though I briefly paused, with the look that squirrels have when they seem to have forgotten something in the middle of eating a pecan, I completely agree that you have to validate people to have any real influence. It’s what the teachings of Freud, kindergarten, and sales trainers have in common. (My apologies to the disciples of Freud and kindergartens nationwide.) So I dug up facts showing the following:

• the abundant labor jobs that paid better than ever were not what most Americans wanted;

• employers who offer highly skilled jobs want young, qualified workers who really don’t want the job (half of Millennials want part-time work); and

• these same employers seeking to fill highly skilled positions shy away from hiring older people who might not weather software upgrades well.

So the truth was left out; the listeners didn’t hear that unemployment is very low and that we have more jobs than job seekers. The host loved the segment and mentioned great listener response. And I think I agree.

If that shocks you, well … it shocks me too! It’s easy to say that people only know what’s in their news feed and that if they click “like” they’ll just be shown more of the same. Or that customers just want to be told more of what they already believe based on the data they have collected from their experience. But if we don’t get people’s attention, it doesn’t really matter what we say—and that is an indisputable fact. So when we are faced with the masses (or spouses, bosses, employees, or customers) who are looking to prove what they already believe, we need to show them how their existing beliefs are true and similar to the new information we’re offering. It’s how change management, sales, and customer service works.

It’s also human nature: Most people only accept new if it doesn’t make them wrong. I will agree that Jimmy Fallon is not the best Tonight Show host, but he is by far the most preferred of his generation. That makes him the best we have now. Since we don’t have a time machine to see Johnny Carson or Joan Rivers in their moment, I am watching Jimmy with his low ego and reverence for his guests that didn’t exist with any TV show host in the ’70s and ’80s (unless you count the redheaded painter with the Chia Pet afro who showed us how to make “easy trees” on PBS). So I can let you have your own truth and slip in some data that can give you a broader perspective on your view. And best of all, I get to be right without making you wrong.

That’s my belief, and I have a right to it! 

Garrison Wynn is a keynote speaker and best-selling author featured in Forbes and Inc. magazines who helps organizations find and keep customers and employees. Reach him at www.garrisonwynn.com.