You know the holiday song “Do You Hear What I Hear?” There is a lyric that asks, “Do you see what I see?” which encourages people to use their imagination and look up into the sky.

What a great metaphor to remind us to look up from our daily tasks and imagine what is possible beyond our limited thinking.

When we start off conversations with “What If?”, we invite our potential business partners to imagine new possibilities. One of the best tools to do that is to ask a question that allows people to visualize a future where the two of you are working together and how much better their life will be by using your solution to their current problem.

Active listening has always been a key factor in being successful in sales. (And we all have to sell ourselves — whether we have a sales title or not). That is why it is crucial to reframe and restate what you think you heard someone say before you answer them.

When people feel seen and heard, they connect with you.

Eyes Wide Open

When I interviewed Issac Lidsky on my podcast The Successful Pitch, he told his journey of losing his sight at 25 years old. He went through many feelings of grief around losing his sight. Once he reframed how he saw his blindness, he went on to become the first blind person to serve as a law clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, as an entrepreneur, he told me that when he runs meetings with his staff and asks them for their input, he sometimes hears silence. He reminds them, “I’m still blind. Are you all nodding again?” Then he has people go around the table and speak their thoughts. This gives him more information than if he had just relied on “seeing” people nod their heads.

He has written a wonderful book Eyes Wide Open and inspires all of us to see in new ways.

When you learn how to tell a new story to yourself about what you need to be happy and successful, you are back to being the director of your own life.

The Three Cameras

We always have three cameras at our disposal:

1. 1. How we see things. What lens are we using? Is it a wide-angle or close-up lens?
   2. The choice to see things from others’ perspectives and show empathy for what they see and feel
   3. The ability to zoom out and see the big picture. Will this be important or stressful 5 minutes from now? How about 5 days or 5 years from now?

If you want to learn how to see and hear things from a different angle so you can create meaningful connections, then my Better Selling Through Storytelling course and ongoing support could be the missing tool you have been looking for!

Let’s go on a journey together to get people to see and hear what you see by telling them stories that tug at their heartstrings so they want to open their purse strings.