“In this traffic, all these vehicles stopped and idling in my way, it’s not impossible that some of these people in SUV’s have been in horrible auto accidents in the past, and now find driving so terrifying that their therapist has all but ordered them to get a huge, heavy SUV so they can feel safe enough to drive. Or that the Hummer that just cut me off is maybe being driven by a father whose little child is hurt or sick in the seat next to him, and he’s trying to get this kid to the hospital, and he’s in a bigger, more legitimate hurry than I am: it is actually I who am in HIS way.”
The above quote is from David Foster Wallace, from his famous “This is Water” commencement speech at Kenyon College.
At some point in your life, you’ve probably either heard this exact quote on something very much like it. It’s basically cognitive behavioral therapy:
1. You only ever have a few pixels of evidence about what’s “really” going on.
2. Those pixels can fit into multiple consistent pictures.
3. Some of those pictures are more pleasant and useful for you to look at than others.
4. So you might as well focus on the useful and the pleasant pictures.
Pretty good advice, right?
Except, I happen to be professionally warped through my work as a direct response copywriter.
And so, while most people might see a healthy life lesson above, I see a sales technique.
A couple days ago, I talked about Sam Taggart, the door-to-door salesman profiled in a New Yorker article.
I showed you one way that Taggart deals with objections. But here’s another way, from the article:
Usually, once the customer realizes she’s being pitched, she’ll say anything to make the salesman go. When I canvassed with Taggart, I often felt anxious: They really want us to leave! But he interpreted every objection as an appeal for further information. He heard “I can’t afford it” as “Show me how I can afford it,” and “I already have a gun and a mean dog” as “What else do I need to fully protect my family?”
Taggart always takes objections as a request for more info, and questions as a sign of interest.
And why not?
Like DFW says above, it’s not impossible. In fact, in at least some situations, it’s exactly what’s happening.
When a potential customer or client asks you an accusatory question, or when they raise an insurmountable objection, those are just air bubbles on the surface of the ocean. You don’t really know what’s going on underneath the surface to produce those bubbles. So you might as well imagine a colorful and fun underwater party, populated by singing crabs and smiling tropical fish who really want you to succeed. “Darling it’s better down where it’s wetter, take it from meeeee…”
Anyways, the New Yorker profile of Sam Taggart doesn’t paint a very flattering picture of the guy. But that’s mainly New Yorker propaganda. And in any case, there’s a lot of value in that article, if you only, as they say, read between the lines.
I might write about some of that valuable stuff in the future. If you want to catch that when it comes out, sign up to my daily email newsletter.