Pattern interrupts are about changing the momentum and direction of an interaction. Sometimes they happen right at the beginning of an interaction, and sometimes they happen somewhere in the middle.
I once heard a story about a person in the financial industry who used a pattern interrupt to open the door to a completely new conversation. Let's call the financial person Steve.
One day, Steve sat down with a prospect he had never met before who had recently been laid off from his job. Steve worked through a basic needs analysis process to identify the individual's financial needs in light of the layoff, which also included a presentation about the services Steve offered.
As the presentation came to a close, the prospect said something along the lines of, "Well, I'm not sure how any of that's going to work out for me, and I'm not sure I need any of it."
To which Steve replied, "You probably don't."
Now, that kind of response (a pattern interrupt) tends to catch people off guard a little. So the prospect asked, "Then why did you go through all of that information?"
Steve answered, "Frankly, all of that's simply a starting point for us. I get the impression you're pretty upset about how things are going right now. Would you like to talk about that?"
The pattern interrupt and the prospect's next question opened the door for Steve to ask something he probably couldn't have asked at the beginning of the conversation. And the prospect opened up about the fact that he had worked for the company for 30 years and was angry at being laid off. He had the resources to retire, but he didn't like being forced into the situation.
With that information on the table, they were able to have an entirely different conversation about the prospect's needs and wants than when they started with a basic needs analysis.
Now, if Steve hadn't invested some time up front in the conversation for bonding and rapport, that pattern interrupt probably wouldn't have worked. The prospect might not have ever opened up and shared his real pain in that situation. But by being honest about the fact that the prospect might not need his services, Steve was able to continue the conversation on a deeper level.
Crandall is the Principal of Sandler in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He works with business owners and motivated individuals to create and implement Professional Development Strategies to foster the growth of individuals, teams, and organizations.
