I share this with people so often and it’s honestly been a challenge sometimes because it isn’t always brought up in the perfect scenario. However, I’m so passionate about this one word that I can’t help but to clearly and precisely lay out what it is, why it’s so important, and the future impact this word will continue to have on the universe for millions and millions of years.
Can you think of a word that is so powerful that you purposely bring it up in everyday conversations and begin shaping the conversation to fit that word? I just recently discovered that I’ve been doing this. Subjectively I believe it’s always relevant, however, that may not always be the case.
This word has changed my life, my business, my relationships, and my overall outlook on the entire world. So, what is this powerful word?
Perspective.
Perspective has changed not only my life, but I believe perspective has changed the lives of anyone who is living and breathing on our planet today. It’s not just the word itself that does this. It’s what that word means.
I remember the first time it became important. I was selling cars at a dealership in Iowa. I was an extremely talented communicator and sold a lot of cars. However, when I began to introduce this word into my sales presentation it relieved myself of a lot of work and explaining. I remember my new catch-phrase was “May I share with you my perspective?” This was a game changer. I didn’t really understand why in the moment. However, a few weeks had gone by and I literally had doubled my sales closing ratio. (How many people I sold a car to, compared to the number of people I tried to sell a car too.) It was requiring a lot less effort for me to persuade someone that buying a car was a good idea.
I simply was genuine, honest, and transparent. I shared with them my thoughts on the deal. Sometimes they were paying too much and needed to go down a trim level to save some money and sometimes they needed to spend a bit more to get all the equipment they wanted. These were simply my opinions on the deal itself and I shared them openly and honestly with them. This then opened up a dialogue between me and this person I had never met before to discuss how we need to go about finishing up the deal.
The key in that last paragraph is that it had opened up a dialogue between me and someone I had never met before. I firmly believe when we are able to open up a dialogue and communicate with one another we have now eliminated closed-minded opinions and opened up our ability to learn someone else’s point of view.
This same mindset I had developed at the car lot has stuck with me to my writing career and helps tremendously when I’m coaching new writers to become better writers and business people. Can you imagine telling a story, but keeping a closed mind and only allowing your thoughts and opinions to matter? It would be extremely challenging to have a lot of readers relate to your writing. But when you are thinking about the person you are serving and begin to dig inside of their perspective and how they may receive the information you are sharing, that’s when the relatability opens up and the communication can begin.
Can you imagine a world where we are more opinion to hear someone else’s side of the story? To think before we make a decision about how someone else will perceive that decision? Can you envision what your sales would look like by implementing this one skill? Can you imagine your relationships growing because instead of arguing you now have civil discussion and share view points with one another?
This article is simply my perspective on the world’s most important word and how it has shaped my life for the better.
Be sure to share your perspective on this topic (preferably all over social media) and start a new discussion with someone today.