Does your sales pitch sound like something Satan would say?
In Isaiah 14, we’re given a glimpse of the mind of Lucifer as he plots the failed takeover attempt that got him booted from heaven.
One thing you’ll noticed is that every sentence is I-centered; “I’m this, I’m that, I’m going to do this,” etc.
You see this same kind of conversation (maybe monologue is a more accurate term) here on earth.
How does that compare with how you sell/market to your potential customers?
In Parts 1, of this we talked about how you can write copy for your website that overcomes the skepticism, inertia and reactance that naturally work against your sales message.
Another set of psychological phenomenon applicable to business and marketing is in the realm of cognitive biases.
The brain is not — and cannot be — completely objective in perceiving information. You can become a much more effective communicator and persuader by understanding the angles and spins that our minds apply to every bit of information we consume.
Let’s examine how cognitive biases and think about ethical ways we can use the brain’s predispositions to strengthen our marketing messages.
We are wired to look for evidence that supports what we already believe to be true. We tend to interpret data in ways that agree with our positions. We value people who are on our side of an issue or debate – we have an automatic kinship with them.
The opposite is also true. We tend to reject information that contradicts our opinions. That’s known as the Semmelweis reflex. In fact, information that disagrees with our preconceptions has been shown to strengthen our original beliefs. That’s called the backfire effect.
Our brains need consistency and predictability, so we automatically find ways to support the paradigms we hold. Information that contradicts our ideas about the world is often discarded out of hand.
That’s why it’s difficult for a Democrat to become a Republican, or a Yankees fan to start rooting for the Red Sox.
You need to present your product or service and your message in a way that agrees with what your audience already believes. Confirm their suspicions about themselves and the world around them.
You have to relate to the members of your audience right where they are. People have a hard time spending money on solutions for issues that haven’t “hit home” for them yet. We’re inclined to think:
“That could never happen here…”
“I’ll never be in that situation…”
Even if we logically understand the possibility, we don’t feel the need commit to anything that seems far removed from our everyday experience. Our brains can’t contemplate every conceivable occurrence that might come to pass in our lifetime. So the status quo becomes our default mental setting and we don’t give much thought to other scenarios.
You’ve probably noticed how hard it can be to convince people that danger may be on the horizon if it’s outside their personal “normal.” That’s one of the reasons disasters like Hurricane Katrina wreak as much havoc as they do. That same bias is present in all of your customers.
Are you selling a vaccine or a pain killer? Ibuprofen is almost always easier to sell than flu shots.
People tend to choose the option they know best instead of the best available option. (This is another reason why “building a better mousetrap” doesn’t guarantee people will beat a path to you door.)
This raises 2 important questions:
1) Are you building valued relationships with your audience
2) Are you providing enough information as your prospects need to feel confident in choosing you?
You can see how important transparency, honesty and credibility are. This cognitive predisposition is the one of the psychological reasons behind the Know-Like-Trust concept most of us have heard about a million times.
In Jack Trout and Al Ries’ 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Law #1 says that it’s better to be first than it is to be better. Law #3 states that it’s better to be first in mind than first in the market.
How well-known are you in your arena? What can you do to improve that?
This is all about framing your message properly.
When you properly set expectations in the mind of your potential clients, you affect their how they perceive the topic you’re discussing. You can make them see what you want them to see, just like a magician…
Education is a wonderful selling tool. You can use it to shape your prospects’ opinions about how to shop in your industry, which gives you the upper hand over all of your competitors.
When people we trust share information with us about something, it has a huge impact on how we experience that thing in the future. For example, when I was young, my mother told me that I didn’t like cranberry sauce, even though I don’t remember having tasted them before. I can’t tell you how many years I missed out on eating them, without ever trying them for myself.
When we’re not experts on a particular subject, we usually take what the “real experts” have to say at face value (unless it contradicts our current worldview). They define how we think about that topic. Parents, doctors, mentors, etc. have tremendous influence because of this fact.
So, how are you framing your marketing conversations? What expectations are you setting?
A few days ago, I heard someone complaining that all advertisers do is take advantage of consumers by manipulating them. They gain marketshare by telling bigger lies in louder voices than their competitors. But is that what advertising is about? Is that what business is about?
I argue that there is such a thing as truth in advertising. Advertising and lying are two different things in my book.
Moreover, marketing can actually make the world a better place. That’s how it ought to be used.
Taking inspiration from the instant viral hit “21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity,” I wrote this month’s newsletter on the topic of how doing good is good for business.
Check it out below.
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Doing good is good for business.
Not everyone believes that. I’ve had several discussions with people who think marketing is inherently evil and that entrepreneurs are generally dishonest and greedy. Maybe you’ve had similar conversations.
As I’m sure you know, you don’t have to be one of the bad guys to be successful in business.
With that in mind, this issue was inspired by the instantly viral article “21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity.” I normally wouldn’t ask you to stop listening while I’m talking (or reading while I’m typing) but you should strongly consider taking a few minutes to check out that article if you haven’t already done so. It’s just photos and captions, so it’ll only take a moment. Everything I say will make more sense if you do.
Let’s look at 3 instances of altruism in action from the article. Although I’m not sure any of these were meant to be marketing ideas, the insights we gain can have a dramatic impact on your business.
When you look at the “21 Pictures” article, the caption under this image tells us that the owner of the dry cleaner who put on this “promotion” estimates that it cost $32,000 to help around 2,000 unemployed people in his community.
You know what I call that (other than “nice”)? An irresistible front-end offer.
Dry cleaners provide a service their customers need time after time. If they treat their customers right, they can form lifelong relationships. Free dry cleaning during a time of need is an incredible way to get the ball rolling. Where do you think these people had their suits cleaned in the future? How many other people did they tell about their experience? How much PR did this effort garner?
Think about it like this: this cleaner bought leads for $16 apiece. Last time I went to the dry cleaners, I spent $45. Does that sound like a good investment?
Application:
1) Do you have an irresistible introductory offer? One so good that it’s virtually impossible to turn down?
In a previous newsletter, I mentioned how Gillette sent me a Mach 3 razor in the mail for my 18th birthday. I’ve been happily buying expensive blades from them for over a decade now.
Square (http://www.squareup.com) is giving away free mobile credit card readers. They make a small upfront loss to gain 2.75% of every transaction they process in the future.
Book of the Month Club will give you 4 books for $1, knowing you’re likely to buy plenty of books from them in the future.
2) Have you developed a profitable back-end to capitalize on the flood of leads/buyers coming in? In almost every industry, this is where the real money is made. Your current customers are your most valuable asset. Are you making the most of the opportunity to serve them in a way that’s mutually beneficial and profitable?
3) Are you specific in who you’re targeting with your marketing? Are you offers tailor-made for your ideal customers? This dry cleaner is appealed to a specific audience with a very powerful felt need. He saw a way to make their lives easier and improve their ability to make future purchases (by helping them look good on job interviews).
Do you believe that the more you give, the more you get back?
If nothing else, this Subway location is helping people in a way that’s tax deductible. But chances are that plenty of customers notice this sign from day to day. This weekly act of kindness must build a lot of good will. Customers feel good about supporting businesses that are doing good in the community.
It pays off to treat people like human beings instead of walking wallets.
Application:
1) What are you doing to prove that you care? Are you using your talents and resources to meet a real need? Focusing on others rather than obsessively looking at your own business is essential to running a successful business.
Personal connection goes a long way in today’s “social economy.” Not only do you want to treat people like people (as mentioned above), but you want to show your own human side, as well. This commercial from Ally Bank illustrates the point wonderfully.
These pictures show the correspondence between a 3-year old and the customer manager at a supermarket. Check out the way the manager responded to the letter. The fact that he responded at all is noteworthy, and he took the time to write a personal letter. Read the language he used. It’s not corporate-speak; it’s perfect for talking to a toddler.
A £3 gift card is a tiny investment to give a little girl an unforgettable experience. You can almost guarantee Sainsbury’s will hold a special place in her heart for the rest of her life (which will probably be a long, long time). Her parents, too.
On top of that, gift cards are notorious for putting extra money in retailers’ pockets. It’s hard to find an exact statistic, but the majority of consumers spend more than gift card is worth. They’d rather spend more than waste any of the cards value.
Application:
1) Are you showing your customers how much you appreciate them? What can you do to improve in that area?
2) Can you add even more personal touches to your marketing? Maybe do one thing per week that’s not automated to add value to your valued customers (or perhaps ones you’d like to “reactivate.”)
3) Do your marketing materials, including your website, show off your personality? Do you seem like a person/group of people or a corporate machine?
4) Is there a way to utlize gift cards or pre-punched reward cards to entice customers to come back and buy from you again?
In Scientific Advertising, Claude Hopkins teaches us that “any … attempt to sell, if apparent, creates sales resistance.” This is as true for copywriters as it is for door-to-door salespeople. If you’ve written sales copy, you’re already familiar with the truth of this principle.
To circumvent this resistance, you have to take a different approach. Applying the defensive perspective makes a lot of sense.
Here are 7 defensive copywriting strategies that will help overcome obstacles to closing the deal. They may even prevent those hurdles from entering your readers’ minds.
1) Express genuine interest in and empathy for your prospects’ desires/needs. This can be challenging. You may have to edit until you get the tone and language just right, but it’s possible.
This goes a long way to removing the resistance to being sold. Your reader feels valued by you; you think of him as a person, not a customer. Major distinction.
Read the other 6 tips on ProCopyTips.
In his 2003 book Resistance and Persuasion, Dr. Eric Knowles explores the psychological reasons people to say “no.” Understanding why your website’s visitors tell you “no thanks” can go a long way in helping you change more of their responses to “yes, please.”
Dr. Knowles talked about 3 main root causes for the natural resistance to the sales process: skepticism/distrust, inertia and reactance. Today, we’ll analyze skepticism in more detail to see how you can neutralize it and increase your site’s conversion rate and profitability.
People are trained from a young age to think that “if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.” Nowhere is this more applicable than in business and marketing.
Does the copy on your website make hard-to-believe claims? Maybe you have to make bold statements because your product or service is just that good. Why should you be penalized for having an incredibly great selling proposition?
You overcome skepticism with evidence. Can you back up the claims you make with proof? Do you have testimonials of satisfied customers whose lives you’ve changed? Can you give statistics from authoritative sources that give credence to your statements? Can you demonstrate that you’re telling the truth with pictures or video?
Don’t hold back on the proof! The more evidence you can show that your claims are 100% legitimate, the less room you leave for skepticism.
Want to do even better? Offer a free trial or sample of your offering. It’s hard for people to argue with results they’ve experienced for themselves.
(Just a thought: if you can’t confidently offer a free trial of your product or service because you’re nervous the customer won’t make the final purchase, maybe you need to improve it until you know that if they try it, they’ll buy it.)
A major reason people hesitate to pull the trigger on a purchase is the fear of feeling ripped-off or disappointed when they finally get what they ordered. You can effectively alleviate that fear by offering strong guarantees and/or service after the sale. When they know they can get their money back if things don’t go the way they hope, making the decision gets a lot easier.
Another mistake many businesses make is sounding just like everyone else in their field. If your website looks the same as your competitors, if your copy says the same things in the same “voice,” your potential customers are very likely to think of you as the knock-off of the sites they’ve already seen. When everyone looks the same, everyone is seen as a commodity. But worse than that, everyone sounds fake and insincere. Distrust is a conversion killer.
Use specific language to show readers how well you know them, how well you understand their needs and how experienced you are in delivering solutions for those needs. Speak directly to your audience in language that resonates with them.
Don’t try to talk to everyone. Generic language almost always misses the mark.
If you’ve lived on this planet for more than 10 years, you know how difficult it can be to convince people to change their established routines. People like to do things the way they’ve always done them (even when they know there’s a better way). Studies show that our brains go out of their way to form habits, then “reward” us with happy hormones when we maintain them.
It’s Newton’s First Law of Motion applied to human behavior; bodies in motion stay in motion. We tend to keep doing what we’re currently doing, and it’s hard to start something new.
Habits are hard to break. And there’s a sense of comfortable familiarity and security that come from keeping things the same. So we resist change.
As marketers and salespeople, we often think the way to make our propositions more compelling is to increase the perceived payoff customers will get when they buy from us. That’s why we pile hundreds of dollars of bonuses on top of our offers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; giving more value is always a good idea.
What we don’t realize is that habits are their own payoffs. That’s part of the reason people get set in their ways.
Alan Weber is quoted as saying “Real change happens, when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing.” The same is true when it comes to selling your product or service from your website. You may have difficulty demonstrating that the payoff of using your product (which they haven’t felt yet) is greater than the payoff associated with their current product or lack thereof (which they’re currently enjoying).
Consider trying another route. Instead of focusing on the payoff of taking action on your offer, show your visitors how much it costs them to keep doing things the same way. What do they lose by continuing on the path they’re currently taking?
According to Weber, change happens when that reality hits home. Then your prospects can replace their old purchasing habits with better ones – yours!
Jeffrey Gitomer wrote in The Sales Bible, “People don’t like to be sold but they love to buy.” When you look at your own experience, you can see the truth in this statement.
Of course, that fact is one of your biggest challenges as an online marketer. People want to buy things to satisfy their desires and remove unpleasant aspects of their lives. They just don’t want to feel like they’re being “sold.”
Claude Hopkins wrote that “Any apparent effort to sell creates corresponding resistance.” It’s an instinctive reaction. Instinctively, our brains think “Hey! This guy is trying to benefit at my expense. Well, he’s not gonna get me!”
A customer’s sales resistance is related to a psychological phenomenon called reactance. In layman’s terms (as per Wikipedia), reactance is a person’s subconscious rebellion against what he thinks someone else wants him to do.
We see the other person’s will as a threat to our freedom to decide and act as we please.
When a salesperson asks “how can I help you?” you don’t believe her true intention is to help you, do you? You think she wants to help herself. You imagine that she’s going to do everything in her power to make you purchase what she wants to sell you, not necessarily what you want to buy.
You’re sure she’ll try to make you buy now; you want to make up your mind in your own time.
People want to operate on our own terms, not those of a salesperson (or anyone else). So we resist.
You neutralize reactance by not appearing to sell. You hear a lot of talk about push vs. pull marketing regularly. That’s largely what this issue boils down to.
Have you ever noticed that commercials on TV are louder than the program you tuned in to watch? Obviously, that’s an attempt by the advertisers to get your attention, and it works. You can’t ignore the blaring sound. But is that a good thing? Most would agree that it’s not.
No one likes to be pressured and no one likes to be shouted at. It may grab your attention, but it’s also irritating and puts you in a negative mood. That defeats the purpose of your message.
Don’t “shout” your sales message. Hard-selling is counterproductive. Instead, seduce. Give your visitors reasons to listen. Make them want to know more about what you’re talking about.
Engage your readers by talking about topics that are truly important to them. Tell interesting stories. Create a sense of curiosity. And really communicate what’s in it for them. When you start sounding like someone who just wants to sell something, you’re in a heap of trouble.
Have you ever noticed the similarity between the French word “avertissement” and our English “advertisement”?
Same word origin. Avertissement literally means “warning.”
In many ways, an advertisement should be a warning to those who see/hear it. Do your ads have the same sense of urgency that “Danger: Electric Shock” signs carry? They should.
Your target audience needs to 1) notice your message, and 2) take action to avoid the danger ahead. That also means that your marketing should address actual danger, or problems. Many of the teachers of advertising and marketing will tell you never to use negative headlines. Pure horse-manure! Even if you take a positive approach to delivering your message, you should be presenting the positive aspects of not getting electrocuted.
If what you’re selling is worth its salt, there is a real danger for anyone who doesn’t buy from you. The danger of getting ripped-off… …of paying too much… …getting less… …or missing out on the happiness they might have if they did buy from you. Keep the French roots of the word advertisement in the forefront of your thinking when you’re promoting your products and services. It’s your responsibility to protect your customers from the dangers that accompany not buying from you! If your product or service isn’t valuable enough to warrant a warning to make sure the target audience buys, maybe you shouldn’t be selling it.
Yesterday, I had the distinct privilege and wonderful pleasure of being interviewed by Yasmin Razaq for her Explode Biz Profits event.
We talked about:
– how recessions are good and USPs are bad
– possibly the dumbest advertising sign I’ve ever seen
– two foundational principles for writing copy that people will respond to, and
– how to keep your messages out of email jail.
I also shared how you can get my ebook Stealth Selling gratis.
Go check out the replay at http://businessmarketinggirl.com/explodebizprofitsreplays/. I’m not sure how long Yasmin will keep this page open, so if you have any interest at all, don’t wait too long.
Update: If you’re interested in hearing the recording of this hour-long interview, I’ve got it right here. If you’re interested in getting a copy of my book, send me an email and we might be able to arrange something.
A note on Unique Selling Propositions
Theodore Levitt said that selling focuses on satisfying the needs of the business, whereas marketing works to satisfy the needs of the customer.
With that in mind, the USP is inherently focused on the company, product or service itself. Even a benefit-rich USP can be off-base.
Feature-focused USP: “Our product is awesome. It’s made from the strongest steel ever produced.”
Benefit-focused USP: “Our product is awesome. It’s more durable than other products, so they don’t have to be replaced as frequently, saving time and money.”
Sounds good, right? But even the benefit-driven USP can be improved upon. These are selling points, rooted in the needs of the one who needs to make the sale. What if you moved into the realm of marketing defined by Levitt?
Unique Value Proposition: “Our customers are awesome. They save time, money and headache by using with the most durable product available. It works more reliably, for longer periods of time and with fewer replacements needed.”
The wording is purposefully corny, but you see the difference, don’t you? It may seem like a tiny distinction, but even the tiniest change in perception and approach can create a big change in results. A slight edge makes all the difference in the world.
Don’t make your audience dig for the value they’ll get from you. Sure, they might be able to figure it out by your statements about how great your product is. But why not make what’s in it for them obvious?
On Thursday, I have the privilege of participating in Yasmin Razaq’s Explode Biz Profits teleseminar event.
Every day this week, business growth and marketing experts will be sharing their best insights into attracting more customers and clients, strengthening your personal or business brand and improving your overall profitability.
I’ll be talking about “5 Ways Businesses Sabotage Their Own Marketing.” Some of the topics we’ll get into are:
Go over to http://www.businessmarketinggirl.com/explodebizprofits/ to find out more about this week’s sessions. Plenty of good content is on the way. If you see anything that might help make your business better, register and attend the talks that appeal to you.
Each speaker will also be giving away a special freebie after the call.
Why not take a look right now? As I mentioned, I’ll be live at 12 noon Eastern on Thursday, March 29th.
I’d love for you to get your hands on this high-quality content.
**UPDATE**
Listen to the interview here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNJY-lYndWk
Whoa!
I usually don’t gush with praise for TV commercials, but Old Spice did something brilliant here.
Sure, it’s loud, over the top and a bit obnoxious, but there’s a powerful lesson to be learned (p-p-pardon the p-p-pun).
If you want your advertising to be profitable, you have to grab your audience’s attention. There are an infinite ways to do this, most of which don’t involve putting your head through a wall (or making the volume on your commercial super-loud, as many advertisers are doing these days. Shouting at your customers is rarely a good way to build relationships or get them to buy).
This commercial is great because it was as unexpected as any I’ve ever seen. Terry Crews literally hijacked a Charmin spot. Viewers had their attention focused (to a greater or lesser degree) on bath tissue, only to be rudely interrupted…in an unforgettable and creative way.
What can you do to hijack your audience’s attention? You can’t sell to them until you do.
Thousands of new businesses will open in the coming months. There will be really good ones, really bad ones and everything in between.
What can you do to outmaneuver your ever-expanding number of competitors?
How will you establish your uniqueness in the market?
What makes you more attractive to your chosen audience? How can you build on that foundation?
A.) Do you have a specialty? A very sharply-defined expertise or niche? You may or may know this, but specialists tend to be able to charge higher fees than generalists in any given field. Think brain surgeons versus general practitioners.
It’s also easier to get noticed and establish yourself as an authority in a small corner of any industry, rather than compete with everyone else.
B.) Do you possess a rare certification? Have you worked with a famous client who got outstanding results? Do you have a pile of testimonials from clients who will sing your praises?
If any of those distinctions apply to you, put that information in the foreground.
C.) What activities are you doing that others are not doing? Where are you available that your peers can’t reach? What can you add to your repertoire to take the strategic advantage?
D.) What are you willing to do that none of your colleagues has the guts to try? What ways can you think of to differentiate yourself from the pack?
E.) What special ways are you touching and helping people? Society? The world?
F.) Is there an unusual guarantee that you offer to your clients? Specific results you basically promise that they will experience?
Don’t take for granted that would-be clients know these things. Tell them!
If others make the same claims about themselves truthfully, you have some more work to do to find your unique value proposition (UVP).
If your peers could make the same statements, but don’t, you can preempt them and take ownership of those claims. Be the first, and everyone else becomes a copy-cat.
What is the biggest, boldest claim about your services that you can honestly make? Say it!
The idea that you should “under-promise and over-deliver” is another myth that can cause considerable damage if you believe it. There is no question about over-delivering – you should always do that. The problem lies in under-promising.
Under-promising can be suicidal for your business. Imagine a dentist who advertises “Your teeth will probably be fairly clean when I’m finished,” because he wants to under-promise. Who would ever set up an appointment with that dentist? No one will find out how amazing the final delivery is; they will visit the dentist who guarantees that his patients’ teeth will be sparkling white and healthy.
That only makes sense. Under-promising sets a low expectation, which makes the over-delivery all the more pronounced. The hope is to surprise and delight the customer. But, weak promises will keep a customer from ever considering the purchase.
Make the strongest claims you can make. Otherwise you end up blending in with the competition. A reliable way to secure a steady flow of the type of clients you want to work with is to be great at something (the very best if at all possible) and make sure as many people in your target audience know about it.