Sigmund Freud and Why Fewer Choices are Better
"Freud claimed that the adult personality was fully developed by the age of five."
When my daughter was in the three/four year old range, I used to get her ready for school, which involved an already fashion-conscious little girl picking from a closet full of outfits. The process would typically work like this: I would open the closet and take out a dress, hold it up so she can say (or scream) “no”, until I found one she was willing to try. She would then put it on and more often that not decide she wanted something else. This started taking more than a half an hour per day and also yielding bad results. Much of the time, I would get frustrated and tell her “pick one out yourself then,” which would result in her rummaging through the closet for ten minutes and emerging with a halloween costume.
Sigmund Freud claimed that the adult personality was fully developed by the age of five. Selling is no different and from my experience as both a middle school teacher and as a sales manager of 13 reps, adults are not much different from children. Too many choices leads to either paralysis or disaster. Realizing this, I changed the procedure. Remember what philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said: “Anxiety comes from the possibility of possibility.”
Just like any good sales person, I realized that I am the expert when it comes to picking out the outfit. I know the weather outlook for the day, the activities being done at school, the seasons and any other variables that go into the best decision. I pick out the best two options, hold them up in front of her and ask her confidently “Presley, which one?” She then points at one, the process is over and she’s better off for it.
The same goes for selling. There is far too much emphasis with sales people these days on “customization” and “we can do it however you want it.” This is lazy. Overwhelm a client with choices and they’re in no-man’s land. As the expert, lead them to the optimum one or two options. The sale will move faster and they’ll be better off for it.