Covert Triggers
by Kevin Hogan
Page 3
Dale Carnegie -- he's the "power of positive thinking" guy -- tells the story of a speaker who was promoting an idea that was absolutely and utterly ridiculous. Yet, at the end of the presentation, people were eager to "buy in" to what the speaker was selling. If the idea was absurd, what convinced the audience?
According to Carnegie: enthusiasm. The speaker was passionate and enthusiastic about his subject. As a result, more than half the audience never questioned his authority...they just bought his product.
Remember: Enthusiasm is Contagious.
If you're not enthusiastic about what you're selling, why should anyone else be? To the consumer, your enthusiasm reflects on your credibility.
Your enthusiasm is also a reflection of your real passion for your product or service. When you're genuinely excited about something, it comes across naturally because…well, because it IS natural -- honest, authentic enthusiasm that comes from the heart.
The FREE BONUS of Enthusiasm
At the end of the day, you'll feel better selling something you believe in. So try to focus your work on products, services, and ideas you truly feel positive about. I STRONGLY encourage you to represent products that are filling a need, meeting a want, are "the best" or "very good" at the least. You’ll sleep at night and you will never have to fake it... (and guys hate it when it’s faked...)
And obviously, only sell to people who are very likely to get real benefit from what you sell, too. That way everyone is enthusiastic!
The Precision Selling Trigger
I’ve written for over a decade about just how important precision is in the process of persuasion and selling.
"Double your sales," sucks.
"Increase your sales by 17% or more," is a LOT BETTER
PROBLEM: Like the exclusivity trigger, this trigger is being used by a lot of people to scam people. I saw an Internet ad that said, "I’ll show you how to make $489,724.44 in an hour."
My response is, "String the guy up."
Yes, there ARE people who will believe that especially when a photoshopped’ canceled check for a half million bucks is imaged below the claim.
They’ve taken a powerful tool for influence and persuasion and tainted it with false advertising (read lying...and lying bad.)
The courts have said that "puffery" is essentially fine. (Exaggerating a little about your product - but fraud isn’t.)
OK. I had to get that out...
A mental picture can stimulate the strong emotions that are the fertile soil for planting the "seeds" of buying.
However, while a picture in a museum or art gallery can be impressionistic, expressionistic, or cubist, the picture you "paint" with your marketing copy must be realistic...and, even more importantly, it must be specific.
"The surest way to arouse and hold the attention of the reader is by being specific, definite and concrete." -- William Strunk and E.B. White
Being specific is the difference between creating a vague image with copy like…...
Specifics are more believable, compelling, and more likely to "close the deal".
