Our tools and technologies may be changing rapidly but psychology is slow to catch up.
A couple of years ago, I talked to two young women (i.e. Millennials) who were both petrified at the thought of sending someone an email. One of the young women described how anxious she was to send the email and by the time she was going to hit the send button, she was terrified!
That interaction opened my eyes. For my generation, those feelings seem reasonable for having to dial the phone, but not for an email. Email is the easy way! I started paying attention to people who’ve grown up in the world of “social selling.” And I’ve come to this conclusion: for people who have fears around “selling” – doing it via “social selling” doesn’t magically erase those fears.
The hesitation and reluctance are still exactly the same even though the tools have changed. Why?
Because sending an email or a PM on a social platform has the exact same stakes for them now that another tool (like the phone or in-person) would have had for them 20 years ago.
Fundamental and deeply ingrained fears like fear of judgment, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment still exist in their reality.
The people who think social selling is so much easier, are the ones who were selling the really “hard way” twenty years ago! It’s like telling someone that they shouldn’t have any fear of flying because the planes of today are so much safer than those that were flying back in the 1950’s.
So, what’s the answer? We still need to focus on changing the mindset, not just the tools.
Have you read Go for No! yet? If not, start now. Get it here at our store or on Amazon if you prefer.