I would guess that you’ve seen the show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”  Originated in England, contestants tackled a series of multiple-choice questions to win large cash prizes.  The original American version premiered on ABC in August 1999, and it was hosted by the one, and only, Regis Philbin. As a twist, contestants were given three lifelines to assist them with questions. The standard lifelines used in the original format of the game show included:

• 50-50: The game’s computer eliminated two wrong answers from the four answers presented, leaving behind the correct answer and one incorrect answer.
• Phone a Friend: The contestant was connected with a friend over a phone line, and he or she was given 30 seconds to read the question and the given answers to solicit assistance.
• Ask the Audience: The members of the audience took voting pads, attached to their seats, and they voted for the answer that they thought was correct. The computer tallied the results and displayed them as percentages to the contestant.

Let’s take that scenario and consider something: If you had an opportunity to use one of those options to help you answer a vital question of your own, which would be most valuable to you?  In my humble opinion, one of those options makes the most sense by a long shot. Let’s examine the choices again:

• 50 – 50: Eliminating half of the responses, and essentially removing some of the clutter, certainly simplifies your attempt to find the right answer.  There’s no doubt this would be helpful, but the actual percentage of assistance is not as helpful as you might imagine.
• Phone a Friend: You have chosen one person, a person you have a great deal of respect for, to provide assistance in answering the question you’re grappling with. There’s no argument that this could be helpful, but not every “friend” is in expert in every topic, and once again, the actual percentage of assistance is not as helpful as you might imagine.
• Ask the Audience: Having many people, with various levels of expertise and a variety of opinions, share their answers certainly seems like it would be useful.  Regarding the problem you’re seeking assistance with, this option could be satisfied by taking a poll of those you work with, or customers within your industry. This would certainly be helpful. As a matter of fact, it would definitely be the one I would select.

Think about it for a moment.  If you’re tackling a difficult problem, reducing the clutter around that problem, or speaking with one person you respect, could be useful to some degree. If that difficult problem affects the direction you or your business might be heading, wouldn’t you want the benefit of multiple responses?  It’s not unusual for smart people to get things wrong, particularly when you’re asking them questions about areas they may not have expertise in.  The numbers improve dramatically when you add real, survey size numbers to it.

There are a lot of factors involved in surveys; how many people will be a part of the study, and what incentives may be added to get the surveys filled out. Another factor is that surveys can be expensive. Online studies, can cost between $15,000 and $35,000 for accurate consumer research.  For critical answers, however, those numbers might just be a bargain.

In the real world, the knee-jerk reaction of tackling difficult questions often seems to be either removing the obvious and hoping that this will lead to the right answer, or investing in the notion that one trusted advisor will have all the answers.  The reality is, “asking the audience,” or for our purposes, surveying customers or employees, will take a little longer, and cost a little more. However, you might want to ask yourself this: How important is it to get the answer right the first time?”

So, when you’re struggling with difficult choices you need to get right, ask the audience… and that’s my final answer!

 

 

What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content?  You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk!”  Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles®, conversations, and interviews that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and dare I say, entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

 

 

I recently appeared on, “It’s Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee,” a fun podcast with Stuart Webb.   You can listen to the podcast here:

• On Facebook com/INRSFQOC
• On Youtube – https://youtu.be/KJBK0dm-VaU
• On Linkedin – com/posts/stuartwebb_a-sought-after-speaker-and-best-selling-author-activity-6858787689332920320-zhxC

If you are looking for something to listen to on your next coffee break you might enjoy this brief chat between me and Tom Bailey, Founder of Succeed Through Speaking and the Succeed Through Speaking podcast. Listen closely if you would like some high value ideas to boost your business results.

• You can read the transcript here – https://bit.ly/3BOfU7o
• You can watch the podcast here – https://youtu.be/w-QgGvweE2M
• You can listen to the podcast here – https://apple.co/2YVGWuN

I Zoomed my way to India to speak with Motivational Diaries, and Ashish Janiani.  We spoke for about 30 minutes about sales processes and training for success.

Sales Process To Sales Success || Interview With Robert Jolles – YouTube

If you want to read some “Life Lessons” I was able to share in a recent interview, you’ll find them here:  https://worldclassperformer.com/short-life-lessons-from-robert-jolles/

I had the pleasure of appearing on Robert Miller’s, Follow Your Dream Podcast and thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.  We go way back in this conversation to my first memories of performance… at age four!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!  https://follow-your-dream.simplecast.com/episodes/rob-jolles-superstar-salesman

I also mixed it up with a wonderful podcaster, Terry McDougall on her Marketing Mambo show.  As she puts it, we “Cha-cha-chatted!”  If you want to hear sales and marketing go toe-to-toe, you’ll enjoy this show. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1569061/8172686-the-art-of-influence-in-sales-and-marketing-with-rob-jolles

I recently did a podcast with a wonderful, new, and up-and-coming star named Jahmaal Marshall.  His podcast is called, “Listen Then Speak.”  I’ve done a lot of podcasts, but we got into topics I rarely talk about, and I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the show!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/listen-then-speak/id1550684472

I’ve appeared on the “Small Business Advocate Show” with Jim Blasingame for almost 20 years now, and you’ll find dozens of our conversations on his website.  We just sat down a few weeks ago for a great conversation about selling fundamentals and the strategic use of stories.  Here’s a link to over 100 interviews done over the years, including my most recent interview that explores our many behaviors we display that are based more on a default mechanism than actual logic. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134

We posted a video series on delivering amazing online presentations with my friend, Jeremy Webb.  We go over some great stuff including:

• How to Select the Best Equipment for Online Presentations
• Pro Tips for Sustaining Interest in Online Presentations
• How to Look Like a Pro!
• Public Speaking Anxiety Tip
• Virtual Office Setup for Online Presentations

You’ll find the whole playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRO7BsBDl6oL-6ZPW3O01x-g5PiR38ljL

I was recently interviewed on the “Salesman Podcast,” which was a lot of fun. If you’re looking to Change Minds, check out this podcast: https://www.salesman.org/the-simple-step-by-step-process-to-influence-anyone-with-rob-jolles/

I loved talking about the book, Why People Don’t Believe You on a podcast that I’m sure you’ll like called Onward Nation: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/rob-jolles/

After 30+ years as a professional speaker and trainer, one of the most common questions I get is this: “How do we make sure the training sticks?”  Take a moment and listen to this podcast; “SalesChats” with John Golden.  If you want to know why most training fails, listen up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3dDOlTK7U&list=FLxBXKhqz0xBwbUPMqNthAJA&index=2&t=1293s