Bringing It to a Different Level

Hi Persuader,

Some of the most interesting conversations come out of working with my advanced students one-on-one. The conversations are never one sided and I ultimately learn nearly as much from them or from interacting with them on the level of their industry as they learn from me. It’s an amazing process.

Recently I was talking with a student/client/friend who’s an advisor and I got on a roll (as I am sometimes apt to do). What came out of this was a really fascinating take on problem solving. My suggestion is that you can never solve a problem on the same level that the problem was created. You have to move to a different level.

Ultimately, this is the basis for all professions in the world today. There are a lot of people who like to do it themselves, i.e. try to do their own taxes, try to sell their own houses, try to fix their own cars — but most of us go to an expert because we realize that there are things accountants, advisors, realtors, and mechanics know how to do with more expertise and more efficiency than us, non-experts, in the given field.

If you are capable of solving the problem yourself, and if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty or reading up on the tax code, you wouldn’t go to an expert. If you were capable of resolving the issues (and maybe liked tinkering or ciphering), you wouldn’t ask for someone who specializes in resolving these issues. You would have no need for it.

Take for example the chiropractor. Chiropractor’s have spent many years studying how the bones in the body work to give support to the back so that when the body is not properly supported and is thus in pain, they can make adjustments that will help eliminate the pain and put people back into order again.

Further, they know how to tell their clients how to strengthen certain areas, how to do specific exercises, so they won’t return to the problem again. If you were in pain right now and you laid down on the floor and tried to move and twist and maybe you decided sleeping on the floor would straighten you out and it didn’t work at all, what are you going to do? What is your next step? You can’t move, you can’t go to work, you’re in constant pain; what are you going to do?

If you’re like me, or like most people, you’re going to look for somebody that can see the big picture, someone who can look at the larger problem than you can, that can see from a greater perspective, someone who understands more than you and can go to a different level to bring a solution to you than you’re able to do. That’s the basis of all professions today.

For purposes of persuasion, this week, figure out the bigger picture on your profession and see if there’s a way to market and sell with that in mind.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland