"Vivid" Description

I am currently reading Dan Arieley's "The Upside of Irrationality". I have read some of his other books and I always find his information interesting and useful. In his new book he touches on two things which make messages memorable. Number one is the message should be personal, it should discuss a recognizable individual. We remember people, The second point is that the more vivid the description, the more memorable the message. Specific detail makes the story believable and burns the story into the listeners brain. So the best way to get a point across is to tell a detailed story about an individual.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim B.

Secret of SUCCES

The title of this blog is not a typo, its an acronym for a powerful sales tool. It stands for: Simple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional Stories. This is taken from "Made to Stick" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This is a technique for making an impression on a customer. Simple (easy to understand) Unexpected (A twist forces people to pay attention) Concrete (Use examples or details to make the idea real) Credible (Make the idea believable, use testimonials) Emotional (Get the customer engaged with the story) Stories (Stories make ideas memorable). This is a good technique and "Made to Stick" is a great book.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Be the authority

I am a big believer in using research on a sales call. Before a call I will google the clients industry and try to find a useful statistic or I will go to Melissadata.com to find something about his market. I like to do this because it helps me to persuade the customer. One of the core principles of persuasion is that people are more likely to listen to someone in authority. When you say "according to research conducted by" you immediately put on the mantle of authority. You increase your credibility with the customer. You become an expert in the eyes of the customer.

Keep Smiling Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Sales is a funny business

I have a reputation for being a bit off the wall on sales calls. (I once told a funeral director prospect that "Our research indicates that more than 90% of our readers will die.") I do this because I am physically incapable of taking anything in life too seriously. Recently I learned that this is probably a big part of my success in the sales profession. Psychologists have found that "incongruity" is a major component of the power to persuade. Incongruity occurs when anything unexpected occurs and forces the mind to reevaluate what is happening. Humor breaks the expected pattern of a conversation which forces the listener to open up and pay attention to the speaker. If you can make a person smile or laugh they will be more inclined to listen to the meaning of your words and to be persuaded by your argument.

Try to insert humor into the flow of your conversations. This works much better than telling a joke. Particularly effective is self effacing humor.

Keep Smiling (and Laughing), Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Magazine article

I was traveling over the weekend and found a great magazine article in an airport news stand. I high recommend that anyone in sales pick up the current edition (March/April 2010) of Scientific American Mind. This magazine features an article titled the Power to Persuade written by Kevin Dutton. This article covers the psychology of persuasion and offers simple yer effective ways to gain agreement. I can't think of a better way to invest (a whopping $5.95) in your career.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Principles of persuasion

As sales and advertising people we are professional persuaders. The following principles are taken from Robert Cialdini's excellent book "Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion

1) Reciprocity--This is the "I'll scratch your back, I'll scratch yours" theory. When you do something for a person, they naturally want to do something for you in return
2) Consistency--When you make a series of requests that causes the customer to answer in the affirmative, they are more inclined to answer in the affirmative when you make a larger request.
3) Social influence--"Monkey see-monkey do" People tend to follow the crowd and do what others have done. Testimonials are the best way to leverage this principle
4) Familiarity--People are more likely to go along with people they know or like. This is why asking for referrals is so important.
5) Authority--People tend to trust people in authority or who look like an authority figure. Don't forget to dress for success
6) Scarcity--This plays on a fear of loss. When you close an ad by saying "I only have a few sots left on this promo" you are applying this principle

I hope I've persuaded you to read this great book.

Keeping smiling, keep selling

Thanks Jim B.