This Time Next Year of The Miracle Question
In British culture, this is a loaded phrase. From a classic, wildly popular sitcom. "This time next year, we'll be millionaires!".
It captures the essence of perpetual optimism to always keeping going and striving, no matter the knocks, setbacks and hurdles you encounter and without regard to the lowly place you may find yourself in at the time.
It sprang to mind as I shamefully succumbed to the recent clickbait clickbait of The Miracle Question.
"Suppose you woke up tomorrow and you were happy.
What would be different?"
The answer is not about dreaming for the stars. It is to be grounded in the realistically believable. Although not something to get bogged down in here, think of the Smart goal framework. The A and R of the sᴍᴀʀᴛ acronym being Achievable and Relevant. Then emerging with a plan.
As one summary reminds, instead of getting consumed by current problems, you offer progress through identifying clear steps needed to reach their stated preferred situation.
This 'reverse engineering' is a classic solution sell trope. Sometimes providing the comedy punchline of them really better off starting yesterday. Such levity can bring breakthrough. 'Let's get cracking!'
Here, the technique is credited to "psychologists who practice solution-focused therapy, a technique created in the 1980s which prompts clients to focus the predicaments in their daily life as opposed to analysing the past".
Apparently they asked patients what "miracle" that might happen overnight would make them wake up happy.
As alluded to in the piece I read, plenty disparage the angle. The main dismissal down to the muppetry of framing their answer in the wholly unobtainable. Such as 'never having to work again', 'living on a beach' or being 'the boss of this place'. When each is so out of reach as to be sheer fantasy.
This time next year, we cannot rely on having won the lottery.
In my cub rep days, I was taught a version of this.
I've used it in many guises since with great success.
One such flavour back then, when selling Enterprise software, was of the kind;
"So one year from having bought this system, how would you hope things look around here for you?"
There's many variants.
What would you look back on and be glad you did today?
What nettle would you like to grasp, new opportunity to pursue or course alter to give renewed purpose for the next few months?
What by the New Year would be the one thing you'd like to have made happen (or disappear)?
Find one tailored to your specific prospect and their situation and you can uncover gold. Treasure that is likely missed by your competition.
In B2Bb terms, we're often looking for what intended legacy, problem resolved or sunlit uplands will accrue from their decision to buy from us.
The Miracle Question is but one option for getting to grips with this and giving them the plan to render the supernatural, actual.