What is EMPOWERED Selling?

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Helping a 6-year-old child understand why it is important to brush his teeth every night before bed to prevent cavities, toothache, uncomfortable dentist visits, and to maintain fresh breath, to the extent that the young child is moved to consistent action without parental micromanagement is EMPOWERD Selling. 

In contrast, a child who only brushes his teeth as a result threats or micromanagement, without the child gaining real understanding of relevant benefits (connection) and without the consistent early reinforcement required (smother) to form that habit is not EMPOWERED Selling. Once there is no longer micromanagement or the ability to follow-through on threats, the child is more likely to miss brushing his teeth. An example could be when your child spends the night at a friend’s house. 

From the patient’s perspective, helping the physician understand that the trouble she has catching her breath and the fatigue she experiences with routine activity is much more than just being out of shape, to the extent that the physician is moved from just counseling her on diet and exercise to referring her to a specialist to rule out more serious conditions, is EMPOWERED Selling. The mutually beneficial component is that the patient receives the correct diagnosis and help for that condition, and the physician receives better patient outcome ratings with reduced patient hospitalizations.

Moving a high school track athlete from words that are intended to motivate, but that fall flat, to words and actions that instill true belief in her ability to do more than she originally thought possible on the track is EMPOWERED Selling. “I believe in you. You can do anything if you work hard” can fail to have the intended impact if the track athlete’s internal dialogue counteracts those words with the self-sabotaging notion of, “I’ll disappoint them anyways, so I won’t try.” What is the difference between the two? True relevance (connection) to what the athlete needs to hear and see, simple and specific measures of progress, and smothering to celebrate wins and reinforce the positive comments.