Accept Them, Use Them to Your Advantage, and Move On

 

“A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well-founded or true.”

Definition of Paradox

 

 

A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition. Like…

-        Less I more.

-        Save money by spending it.

-        If I know one thing, it's that I know nothing.

-        This is the beginning of the end.

And as a side note, for those who are initiated, there is also Supplee's paradox (called the submarine paradox), a physical paradox that arises when considering the buoyant force exerted in a submarine immersed in water.

Every one of those, when investigated or explained, proves to be well-founded and true. And the purpose of someone using a paradox in conversation is to grab attention, provoke thinking, and - as a result - fresh thought.

 

And in business? The Center for Creative Leadership writes: “Conflicting demands and either/or tensions are the norm for many managers. They don’t get resolved by tackling one demand at a time, or by making a “final” decision. Paradoxes — also described as polarities, and sometimes mislabeled as problems — are dilemmas that seem to defy common sense and business acumen. They can be overwhelming, difficult to understand, complex, and seemingly impossible to address.

These tensions show up in all facets of organizational life, including leadership (control vs. empowerment), teamwork (tasks vs. relationships), strategy (competition vs. collaboration), structure (centralized vs. decentralized), and within ourselves (work vs. home).”

 

Life, and especially my work life, has thrown me a lot of paradoxes. I was listening to customers and ignoring them at the same time. I was pursuing innovation by way of trial and error while staying lean and efficient as well. And I was working as hard as humanly possible and also needing to have a life.

Choosing one side of a paradox would be delightfully clear and easy. Though the world is not black and white, it comes in all shades of gray, it is nuanced, and there are no easy answers, no silver bullets. And that requires a mindset different from ‘either/or’:

“The Paradox Mindset. This means shifting from ‘either/or’ to ‘both/and’. Rather than a single, high-level decision, you need to create nuanced decisions that define when to embrace either side.” (Dave Bailey)

Dave and others provide ideas on how to embrace this ‘Paradox Mindset’:

1) Talk about it as a useful skill and encourage discussions about paradoxes within the team.

2) Frame questions in terms of ‘both/and’, e.g., how can we achieve ‘both X and Y?’.

3) Use Polarity Mapping to think about the larger value of balancing the two polarities.

 

Just think of the yin and yang principle: everything in this world consists of two opposite elements that are partially conflicting and partially complementary. And in sales, you can actually use paradoxes to your advantage. In the context of pricing decisions, I frequently advocated the idea of firing customers to become more profitable. Jill Konrath ads a few more ideas:

 

1. To win more sales, stop selling.

When people feel like they're being sold, they react negatively and put up barriers. Focus on helping your prospects achieve their business, professional and personal objectives – not making a sale.

2. To speed up your sales cycle, slow down.

Slow down, sell faster. The more quickly you push to a close, the higher resistance you encounter. Go one step at a time. When your prospects know you want to help them make the right decision, not a rash one, the process moves faster.

3. To make decisions easier, offer fewer options.

When you increase the complexity of the decision, you decrease the likelihood of winning the sale. To help your prospects move forward, give them less to choose from. Keep it simple – always.

4. To be more natural, prepare like crazy.

Today's customers suffer no fools. If you're not ready with the right message, questions or presentation, you'll stumble or be stilted in your meeting. When you do prepare, you can be your best self. 

5. To get bigger contracts, start smaller.

When you pursue the "whole shebang", decisions are more complex and costly, making it much tougher to get approval. Reduce the risk by starting small and proving your capabilities. Then, it's easy to grow.

 

Contact us to find out how a fractional or interim sales leader can help your sales team to use paradoxes like those to their advantage.

 

__________________

Dave Bailey - How to Embrace a Paradox Mindset

CCL - How to Manage Paradox

Jill Konrath - 7 Paradoxical Sales Principles

Kevin Davis - Slow Down, Sell Faster

Photo by Anne Gosewehr