A Rainmaker is a master relationship builder and communicator; their focus is on people, not on the deal or the transaction. At the heart of a Rainmaker’s success in relationships are their interaction skills. Their interaction skills are powered by a duo that every successful Rainmaker understands — Intent & Effect and Discount/Revenge.
These concepts and the research behind were developed by Synectics, Inc. in Cambridge Mass., www.synecticsworld.com).
Intent & Effect
Have you ever heard yourself saying:
• “That’s not what I meant.”
• “How can you get that from what I said?”
• “My intent was to help the situation, not hurt it.”
If you can relate to any of these statements then you grasp the concept of Intent & Effect.
The primary reason behind misaligned intent and effect is the effect is based upon the listener’s perspective and wholly owned by them. You have no control over it. The recipient’s frame of mind and current psychological and emotional state directs the effect, regardless of your intent.
Rainmakers understand this dynamic and stay attuned to any incongruity between intent and effect. Examples include — intent — to help; effect — you’re judging. Intent — to improve; effect — criticizing. Intent — to teach; effect — make me feel inferior.
Think about a sales situation where the client just doesn’t get what you are suggesting. You’re asking yourself: “How can they not see the benefits in my proposal?” What you do not know is earlier that morning the client came out of a budget meeting learning their staff needs to be cut while the department simultaneously takes on additional duties.
The benefits of your proposal might be presented clearly and intended for an audience that is listening to learn and absorb information. The client however is listening to manage their situation and keep themselves and their department’s budget safe. This psychological and emotional state produces an unexpected effect — “You want how much for that solution? No way. Benefits don’t matter. Cutting costs is all that matters.”
Discount / Revenge
George Prince, founder of Synectics and author of Your Life is a Series of Meetings — Get Good at Life, succinctly describes discount/revenge as follows:
“A discount is any action, body language or verbal behavior that I perceive as put-down, criticism, or denigration. Revenge is defensive. It is payback for a discount.”
Discounts are most often inadvertent. There frequently is no malevolent intent; the effect though could be felt as a discount — “how I perceive it” as Prince said. The revenge side of the interaction is interesting because it is hard-wired in us. If we are discounted, our base instincts take over. We protect ourselves and seek revenge.
Discounts damage relationships more than any other variable. When studying the impact of discounts, it’s been calculated that for every discount there needs to be five positive interactions to counter the negative effect of the discount.
Whenever a discount occurs, other agendas are put on hold. The priority becomes protecting yourself, and ultimately revenge. If an immediate strategy for revenge does not present itself, people wait. They will not forget and they will continually search for their revenge, even if this urge exists only subconsciously for a period of time.
Back to our client — a skilled Rainmaker sees and feels the misalignment between their intent and the effect the client is exhibiting. The skilled Rainmaker does not think in terms of overcoming objections. To do so would only further discount the client. The solution they were originally offering immediately takes a back seat. The Rainmaker does four things:
• Establish a collaborative and supportive climate;
• Build trust;
• Build congruency between intent and effect;
• Interrupt a discount-revenge cycle.
Rainmakers listen to absorb, learn, understand and empathize. They speak to the client’s positive intent in order to learn more. They paraphrase the client’s comments to clarify understanding. They use language such as “I wish” and “How to” to reframe challenges in more positive ways, e.g. “What I hear you saying is you want to figure out how to do more with less. Is that correct? If so, I think I can help with that.”
The Rainmaker is in the moment, focused on the relationship and how they can help. The Rainmaker’s interaction skills are front and center and at the heart of their success.
Author Ken Cook is founder and managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors and developer of the Rainmakers System. For more, visit www.therainmakersrevolution.com.
