How To Use Vision Selling To Your Every Advantage
Steve Jobs didn’t create the first MP3 player. He may have had the best vision, though.
Throughout history there are examples of products being “ahead of their time”.
We’ll look back on something that was invented that was a breakthrough yet never caught on with the mainstream public.
We call the inventor and the product ahead of their time.
But maybe this explanation is too simple.
The Art of Selling A Vision
Were handheld computing devices ahead of their time in the 1990s?
Apple developed the Newton computing device. The Palm Pilot made its debut a few years later.
Obviously these companies saw a need for personal computing devices that people could take with them wherever they went.
The Newton never really found its market. The Palm devices did well, but it wasn’t until 2007 when Apple introduced the iPhone that mobile computing really took off.
It’s not that the early idea for a mobile computing device was ahead of its time. The real issue when it comes to success is selling a vision.
Steve Jobs is a recent example of a leader that knew the art of selling a vision. If you’ve watched Jobs speak you know that he was a master motivator. When he spoke people listened and they followed. He was someone who could sell a vision.
He had a vision for a world with the iPhone. Before that he had a vision for the iPod and later a vision for the iPad.
Each of these visions was great, but in order to reach the level of success Apple has over the last 20 years Jobs needed to sell each of his visions.
Problems People Didn’t Even Know They Had
In his official biography, Job is quoted as often making a statement to the effect of “People don’t know what they want until we give it to them.”
Jobs was not a fan of focus groups. He believed Apple could focus on problems and find a solution. That was the opportunity.
The art of vision is the major component of leadership.
In order to lead a team, a company or a country, one needs to provide a vision and needs to convince others to buy into the vision and work to make the vision reality.
The first step in developing a vision is gaining an understanding of where the problems are with consumers or businesses.
This understanding comes from asking questions and observing situations. By listening to people and observing you develop knowledge for the situation. This gives you credibility for the later portion of the process when you need to sell your vision.
Clarity is the next step in the vision sales process.
Once you’ve gained the knowledge you need and you feel comfortable with the information you can begin developing your vision.
A unique aspect of human nature is that we tend to make things complex. True genius comes from making things simple. Often, it’s actually more difficult to make something simple instead of complex.
The task for every leader is to create clarity for his or her vision.
Clarity is crucial for selling the vision. The Apple Newton and the Palm Pilot were great products, but consumers had a difficult time understanding the vision. There was no clear purpose for the devices.
Apple changed this with the iPhone.
Steve Jobs presented the iPhone at the Apple conference. The slideshow behind him was simple. The way he describe the device made it easy for people to understand that this device gave people the power to take calls, check email, browse websites and take photos all with a device small enough to fit in a pocket.
Understanding The Future and Creating an Agenda
Vision selling is more about being a thought leader than a salesperson, although sales will be the result of your efforts.
Your research and work to develop a clear vision gives you the reputation of being a thought leader. It puts you in a position to solve problems people didn’t even know they had because they haven’t come to the understanding that you have with your efforts.
These efforts will provide you with an understanding of the future. You’ll look at history and see how people have evolved. You’ll see how technology has evolved.
By looking at the past you’ll see where the problems are in life and where you create solutions.
When selling your vision you’ll show your team where the problems are with the consumer. Again, you need clarity when defining the problems. Use examples. Share stories. These are great tools for allowing your team the chance to understand the problems.
Once your team is on board with understanding the current problems you can define the future including your agenda for solving the problem or problems.
Another option at this point is to simply present the information to your team.
Leaders don’t necessarily have to provide the solution to the problem. It’s the leader’s job to show clarity in the vision for the future, but leave the task of finding the solution with the team.
Jobs did this at Apple. He had very little input in product development except to provide feedback when his team would present prototypes.
Jobs knew what the future looked like and he put forth the challenge or the agenda to his team so they could find the solution.
The process worked well for Apple with the success of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. They’re now one of the richest companies in the world and Jobs is seen as one of the great business leaders of a generation.
Defining The Future
Vision is very much about defining the future, but it’s not enough to just make bold claims.
Anyone can make a bold claim about where they think the future is heading. Real leaders put in the time to understand current problems and they’ll create clarity around those problems so the team can buy into the future agenda.
One final story – Jack Welch took over GE and turned the company into what is today one of the largest corporations in the world.
Welch saw a problem with the way GE and other businesses operated. It was a rigid way of doing business where everybody knew his or her place.
Welch created a more competitive landscape within GE. The best employees rose to the top and pushed GE into new markets and to new heights.
Jack Welch presented a clear picture of the problem with the structure of GE. His vision for the future was to create the most competitive enterprise in the world.
Team members saw the vision and understood it. They went to work to turn the company into what became the most competitive enterprise in the world.
Jack Welch had successfully sold his vision.
Vision selling is very much a part of leadership. Without this understanding you might end up unsuccessful or “ahead of your time”.
