I came across an article by Mark Bonchek titled, Selling a New Way of Thinking, and I was struck by this…
“The problem is that data, information, and value propositions are not enough to sell [insert yours here].”
After some thought I agreed, but as I started thinking about what was “enough” to effectively sell [insert yours here], I kept arriving at the same old conclusion. I was intrigued by what Mark had to say about mental models.
To sell your idea to [insert yours here] you have to change not only what they think, but how they think. Without the right mental model, they won’t see the problem, understand the benefits, or make the change.
Much of the work done at Simlogi these past few years has entailed understanding behaviors around our customer’s business proceses and then improving those processes to make them more effective. I’ve often found the path of least resistence to bear fruit, but I think Mark has made an interestly different case on how to approach the path of most resistence. He gives the example of how shifting behavior starts with shifting thinking (mental models).
Shifting mental models is playing the long game, which requires both thought and execution. Many examples have demonstrated just how effective that game can be.