It’s NOT Complicated: Part 1

Excerpted from “Be Bold and Win the Sale” By Jeff Shore

The world is a complicated place. Life is a complicated thing. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), on the other hand, is not so complicated. Let’s apply the K.I.S.S. approach to cognitive behavioral therapy…not because I think you’re stupid, but because, as said, the world and life is complicated enough. Here’s the Keeping It Simple definition:

The two components of CBT are our thoughts (cognition) and our actions (behavior). CBT is about training yourself to put your thoughts ahead of your actions, and about purposefully and intentionally anticipating discomfort in order to make a decision (a cognitive act) on how you will respond (a behavioral act).

Because the sales process is a series of potentially uncomfortable moments, the possibility for CBT application in the sales world is endless! The typical progression in sales (and the rest of complicated life) is this:

Discomfort -> Decision -> Action

The problem with that progression is that discomfort is, well, uncomfortable. In these situations our brain always looks for a way out. The natural reaction to this threat is to run away. When we make our decision after we face a discomfort we will likely allow our emotions to lead the way. We give in to our desire for comfort.

Our primitive and instinctive reaction to discomfort is to run from it as quickly as possible: We do this most naturally by running to our “comfortable place,” but often that comfortable place is destructive, or at the very least self-limiting. We know this, of course, but we run there anyway.

Being bold rearranges the order like this:

Decision -> Discomfort -> Action

If you are following CBT principles, you will choose the latter order, and it will make all the difference in the world! CBT is effective because it takes the emotion (or at least some of the emotion) out of uncomfortable situations.

Think about your New Year’s resolution to work out and lose weight. You made the decision, and you had every intention of sticking with it, but you didn’t factor in the discomfort in advance. You made the resolution without being honest about the fact that sacrifices would be required. So when it came time to work out and the discomfort roared, you cowered and retreated to your comfortable place: the sofa. (“I’d better start slowly, since I’m out of shape…maybe tomorrow.”)

CBT has the power to take a complex situation and break it down into bite-sized pieces with small, easy-to-accomplish steps. When we break down a problem into small steps, it becomes easier to understand. This also leads to a sense of mastery with regard to a specific point, providing a sense of control over something that before felt uncontrollable. (Stay tuned for Part 2…)