Mutually Agreed Agendas and Outcomes or MAAOs are wildly powerful communication, sales, and leadership tools. When deployed they help keep meetings on track, reduce pressure and uncertainty, greatly improved safety and communication, enhance bonding and rapport, along with a host of other benefits.
However, used incorrectly or not at all can lead to fractured relationships, undue pressure, manipulating prospects or employees, wasted time, energy, and resources.
A mistake I often see when salespeople are first implementing MAAOs is that they make it all about themselves and not about the prospect. For example, they may say something like, “To make sure this is a good use of “our” time….”
However, switching the point of view and making it all about the prospect and making it okay to say, “No” are the most important first steps to success. For example, “To make sure this is a good use of “your” time….”
5 Guidelines for Effective M.A.A.O.s
- Must be about them – Good use of their time!
- Must be comfortable – not mechanical – Not a checklist
- Must set the stage for healthy conversation – Not control
- Must be a mindset, not a technique (truly being okay with “No” and realizing that not everyone is your prospect, not even every one that has a problem you can solve is your prospect is a key first step))
- Must be crystal clear down to the smallest detail such as which phone number, who is calling who, on what date, at what time, and what happens if that doesn’t happen
Basic Structure for a M.A.A.O.s
| M____________
A_____________ A__________________ (Theirs then Ours) O__________________ (No, Yes, Not Think About It) |
Giving people the ability to say, “No” more than ________________ the number of “Yeses” you’ll get. (42 University Studies of over 22K)
Here are five benefits you might realize from having crystal freaking clear (CFC) Mutually Agreed Agendas and Outcomes (MAAOs)?
- Maintains Bonding and Rapport – Lets the other person know what’s coming.
- Keeps Prospect Comfortable – Okay to say, “No” equals NO PRESSURE.
- Provides structure for meetings, sales process, connect, leadership, etc. which leads to more effective meetings and faster sales cycles.
- Reduces Think It Overs by getting “No” or “Yes” much sooner – Saves Time.
- Reduces pressure on both the sales professional and the prospect. And, reduced pressure on the sales professional typically yields both more activity and more efficient income producing activities.
Can you think of a few additional benefits of having clear Mutually Agreed Agendas?
- Mutually 2. Agreed 3. Agenda 4. Outcomes 5. Doubles