Welcome to One Thing Better. Each week, the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine (that's me) shares one way to achieve a breakthrough at work — and build a career or company you love.
This edition is brought to you by Stanley, the most powerful AI tool I've found for LinkedIn. Details below.
You're struggling to stand out.
Maybe your sales calls feel flat. Or your networking conversations go nowhere. Or your presentations get polite nods but no real engagement. You're doing everything "right," but something's missing.
Here's the problem: You're giving people exactly what they expect. And what they expect is boring.
Today, I'll share a powerful technique that I learned from Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec. He calls it "shock the narrative" — it's the best sales advice I've ever heard, and can apply in so many parts of your life.
But first, let's talk about how it works in sales — and a young salesman who couldn't close a single deal.
The salesman who couldn't sell
Everyone knows Robert from Shark Tank. But here's what they often don't know: His fortune comes from cybersecurity, where he built one of the largest firms in the world.
I interviewed Robert on stage at Level Up, a conference hosted by Entrepreneur magazine And during that talk, Robert told me about a problem at his company.
They'd hired a young sales guy. The kid was smart, professional, and learned everything about the company's products. But he couldn't close a deal.
"This kid's a loser," his manager told Robert. "Let's get him outta here."
But Robert wanted to join a few calls with the kid first. What he observed was telling: The kid did nothing wrong, but he also did nothing to connect with his clients. He was perfectly competent and perfectly forgettable.
So Robert gave him some unusual advice:
"On your next sales call, I want you to walk in, sit down, don't say anything for like a minute," Robert told him. "Then look the client in the eye and say, 'I'm so thankful for you taking this meeting. But I have to be honest, I am so nervous. This is my first sales call.'"
What happened next
The results were immediate and dramatic. The kid started closing major deals.
Why? Robert explained it like this: "We are selling to middle-aged men, typically in IT. As soon as he said he was nervous, our clients all start thinking: 'He's like my son. I want to help him.'"
Robert stresses: This was not manipulation. The kid really was nervous, and it really was early in his career. Robert simply helped him lead with his humanity instead of hiding behind a professional facade.
And in doing so, the kid shocked the narrative.
What it means to "shock the narrative"
In most professional situations, people expect a standardized, predictable experience. Which means they're mentally checked out before you even begin.
"People don't really wanna listen to you," Robert told me. "When you go on a sales call and you sit down and you're so excited, the client is thinking: How the hell do I get this person to leave?"
In other words: They already have a narrative about how this will go.
So to get their attention, you must defy the narrative — to do something so unexpected and genuine that it forces people to look at you anew.
Shock the narratives around you
Ever since Robert told me this, I can't stop seeing the idea everywhere.
Here are some examples:
Virtual meetings.
I used to rush home for virtual calls, so that I could take them in my home office.
Now I take them anywhere — the car, the street, wherever I am. I start by sharing whatever's going on in my day, and that prompts something fun and interesting from the person I'm meeting with.
By the time we get down to business, it feels like we're friends.
I always start my talk by making a big promise: "I study patterns of success, and one pattern has emerged among all others," I dramatically tell my audience. "One thing determines whether you will be successful or not! And that thing is..."
Then I say and show something ridiculous (I won't spoil it here for future audiences). Everyone laughs, and that clears the way for me to make a more genuine connection with them.
Performances.
A professional juggler once told my friend something fascinating.
He said: "After I learned how to juggle five pins, it became easy. And that means it looks easy to my audience."
So when the juggler performs, he always intentionally drops a pin — because then the audience thinks: "Oh wow, that's hard." They watch closer after that and appreciate the juggler more.
In each case, a narrative is being disrupted: This meeting will be boring. This speaker will be bombastic. This performance will go as planned.
And each time the narrative is shocked, connections become stronger.
So, what narrative are you stuck in?
The next time you're trying to stand out, it's worth asking yourself:
What are people expecting?
And how can I go beyond that?
And it's worth recognizing: The answer may not be what you expect.
In all the examples I gave above, something technically "bad" happened. The salesperson deflated themselves. The meeting seemed less professional. The speaker undercut himself. The performer messed up.
But in each case, that "bad" thing had a positive result. It goes to show: Even we have narratives about how our own work will go, or should go. So before we shock anyone else's narrative, we must shock our own.
Good is forgettable. Safe is interchangeable. Expected is underwhelming.
Shock those narratives. Then build your own.
That's how to do one thing better.
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P.S. Want to become a better speaker, and earn money from it? I'm hosting an intimate call (10 people max) to share my tips and answer your questions — and when you join, you'll get my personal branding course for FREE! Sign up here.
P.P.S. Be kind, and send this newsletter to someone who needs it! Forward to them, or just send the link to today's edition — you can find it on my page here.
P.P.P.S. Miss last week's newsletter? It was about how to stop making decisions and start running experiments. Read.
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