The sixth habit of highly effective salespeople: Synergise!
“The key to valuing differences is to realize that all people see the world, not as it is, but as they are.” [Stephen Covey]
Every single person is different; a unique individual.
Whilst some are almost identical, there will always be a few differences.
This habit seeks to encourage the acceptance of differences in other people and valuing them for what they are, not what you think they should be. This becomes much easier once all the other habits are combined.
Synergy is simply described by the phrase ‘One plus one equals three or more’. In other words, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
This is so important to successful relationships and is often seen in the world of business. But it doesn’t come automatically.
It is by taking into account habits four and five that enables synergy to occur. If you’re thinking win-win then you’re already seeking the same goals that are beneficial to both (remembering that one person’s goals may be very different to yours).
When you’re seeking to understand, you’re empathising and bonding with the other party; you’re seeing things from their perspective.
True synergy happens when you acknowledge the differences between people and begin to see their strengths, rather than their weaknesses. It may well be differences in how others think, do things, speak, the way they react or their mannerisms.
Whatever it is, once you understand them and seek to engage with them you’ll find that you can actually complement each other.
Take a football team, for example. Imagine what would happen if the team was full of 11 world-class strikers. Goals would be scored left, right and centre but they’d let in just as many!
That’s because there isn’t a true synergy – all the team members have the same qualities and that leaves gaps in other areas.
For the most effective relationships, a team (even if it’s only two people) will combine and enhance the strengths of each member to counteract their individual weaknesses.
This has the added benefit that, by working alongside others who have different strengths to your own, you will have the opportunity to improve your weaknesses by identifying the way they work.
Now it’s time to put it into practice:
Make a list of people who irritate you
Study the way they do things and make a list of each of their strengths and weaknesses. Can you see how some of their strengths counter your weaknesses, and vice versa?
Study an effective team
Look at the different individuals within it and how very different they all are. If you’re part of that team, think about why you get on so well and complement each other.
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