076 Jack Quarles | Expensive Sentences That Drain Company Resources
We\u2019ve all heard the clever, catchy truisms tossed about in corporate environments that sound like sage advice:\n\n"A penny saved is a penny earned."\n\n"You get what you pay for."\n\n"You can\u2019t switch horses mid-stream."\n\nThey sound good on the surface. Some of these witty aphorisms may even hold a kernel of truth. But dig a little deeper, and you begin to discover that these widely-held and unchallenged beliefs can cost companies lots of time, money, and opportunity.\n\nMy guest on this week\u2019s episode, best-selling author and negotiation expert Jack Quarles, calls these toxic statements \u2018Expensive Sentences.\u2019 Left unchecked and unexamined, these simple little proverbs or phrases have the power to drain valuable resources from companies, keeping them from reaching their full growth and potential.\n\nJack co-authored "Same Side Selling: A Radical Approach to Break Through Sales Barriers" with me. In his latest book, "Expensive Sentences: Debunking the Common Myths that Derail Decisions and Sabotage Success," he looks at the destructive nature of commonly held beliefs and statements that have the power to shut down conversations within organizations, and lead to bad decisions and missed opportunities.\n\n\u201cThese ideas set in pretty deep in an organization,\u201d Jack says. \u201cThey become company lore. They become things that people really believe, but they\u2019re often not true.\u201d\n\nListen to this episode and discover:\n\n\xb7 How one simple statement cost a company millions of dollars in unnecessary expenses.\n\xb7 What are some of the most commonly-used \u2018expensive sentences\u2019 to watch out for in a buying-selling environment?\n\xb7 How not to a respond to an \u2018expensive sentence\u2019 situation (and what to do instead).\n\xb7 Three ways to tell if you\u2019re in an \u2018expensive sentence\u2019 environment.\n\xb7 Three important questions to ask yourself and others that can turn an \u2018expensive sentence\u2019 situation around almost immediately (plus a bonus question from Ian).\n\xb7 And so much more!\n\nEpisode Overview\n\nBack when Jack was the Director of Procurement for a multi-national company, he discovered that a million dollar buying decision was being made on a faulty assumption that was never questioned or challenged.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019d spent probably millions of dollars more than we should have over of several years, and what was the reason? The reason was this distorted idea that had taken root,\u201d he said.\n\nIn other words, an expensive sentence had reared its ugly head.\n\nThat discovery led Jack on a quest to find out why these assumptions were being made and, more importantly, what could be done to change them. He wanted to help buyers shift their perspectives to allow for more healthy, robust competition.\n\n\u201cThe tricky thing about these \u2018expensive sentences\u2019 is that there\u2019s almost always some kernel of truth in them,\u201d Jacks says.\n\nSellers will know if they are in an \u2018expensive sentence\u2019 scenario if they have one (or all) of these three elements present:\n\n\xb7 Stuck\n\xb7 Scarcity\n\xb7 Special\n\n\u201cWhenever you encounter a situation where you feel like you\u2019re stuck, or you feel like the resources are scarce, or you feel like somebody\u2019s special (where we\u2019re dependent upon someone or they\u2019re irreplaceable) those are warning signs,\u201d Jack says.\n\nFor more in-depth explanations of Jack\u2019s three-step formula \u2013 Engage, Examine, Enlighten \u2013 for turning an expensive sentence scenario from a negative to a positive, make sure to listen to this episode.\n\nJack and I also talk about the shift that\u2019s happening in the procurement world toward better overall value (and away from cheapest prices), and the biggest fear a procurement agent faces (it\u2019s not what you think!). Tune in for all of that and more on today\u2019s Grow My Revenue with Jack Quarles.\n\nFor full show notes and other resources, please visit: http://www.ianaltman.com/podcast/jack-quarles-expensive-sentences/