Persuade Everybody About Anything by Adding a "Pitch"
By Michael Masterson
If you want people to do as you wish, don't tell them, sell them. This is a simple rule that applies to almost any situation. I not only use it in my advertising copy, I use it to persuade my: - employees to act on my ideas
- clients to follow through on my recommendations
- vendors to give me good terms
- colleagues to do deals with me
- children to make sensible life choices
- wife to be nice to me
And it always works -- in five cases out of six. (You can guess which of the above I'm least successful with!) A small example: I returned from a meeting in Paris a few weeks ago with an idea that I thought could improve the profitability of one of my clients. But there was a problem. My recommendation was going to require him to make a fundamental change in the way he was doing business. He was already busy keeping the old system going. This new idea was going to seem like too much work for an unsure outcome. My initial impulse was simply to tell him my idea and then, if he objected, argue with him. Instead, I e-mailed him the following note: James, I have a great idea for you. It's an idea I gave to "Peter" in London five years ago. He used it to create a $10 million business. Nobody is doing this in the States yet. You could be the first. Here's what you need to know now: - It is easy to do.
- It is perfect for you.
- It is a clever twist on something you already know.
- But it is much more powerful than what you are doing now.
I can show you how to implement this idea in less than half an hour. I can give you a blueprint you can hand to your key people so they will know exactly what to do. I assure you that you will have this up and running in less than two weeks. And if the results I've seen elsewhere hold true for you, your sales will increase by at least 300 percent by the end of the year. One caveat: I like this idea so much that I'm tempted to give it to another client who has a similar business. I'm holding it for you -- but only if you can assure me you will give it your full attention. What do you say? Shall we schedule a meeting to go over it? Yours truly,
Michael Conclusion: He wrote back immediately to schedule a meeting. When I presented the idea a week later, he brought a tape recorder and made notes on every point. My presentation itself was half information and half selling. Needless to say, he bought it -- and it's already starting to work for him. Sometime soon -- maybe in the next several hours -- you will want to tell someone to do something. Instead, take a bit of extra time and sell your idea instead. Let us know how it works out for you. ---------------------------------------------- Highly Recommended ---------------------------------------------------- "But E-Mail Marketing Bothers People, Right?" - Wrong, says Internet Rant editor David Cross. As he learned from Michael Masterson, the best time to send an e-mail to a new customer is right after they've bought something from you. And not just some random "How are you?" e-mail. You make a very specific offer. One of David's clients did just this... and doubled their sales in months. Read more... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility." Sigmund Freud Just about everyone claims to be in favor of freedom. But few seem to agree on what it means. One person's idea of freedom can actually violate another person's freedom. To one person, it means doing what he wants with his own life. To another, it means doing what he wants with other people's lives. Both say that the other one's concept of freedom is tyranny. To the laissez-faire businessman, freedom means an end to all government regulation. To the communist, freedom can be achieved only when individual incentive has been crushed and "the people" own everything. (Are you starting to feel uncomfortable?)
Some people believe that job quotas for minority groups promote freedom. But to a person who is truly anti-discriminatory, quotas are a violation of freedom. Throughout history, men have miscommunicated on this subject. Since conservatives, liberals, fascists, communists -- and every other group -- all claim to be in favor of freedom, they cannot be talking about the same thing. The dictionary defines freedom as "being free." In turn, free is defined as "not under the control or power of another." How can there be so much confusion over a definition so clearly stated? Utopian thinkers have always confused freedom with equality. But nothing could be more incorrect. Nature has made freedom and equality totally incompatible. "Freedom and equality," wrote Will and Ariel Durant, "are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies.'' When most people talk about freedom, they tend to think in terms of freedom for themselves. They see freedom as a license to do as they please. Thus, you may be surprised to find that when people espouse freedom, often they are referring to their freedom, not yours. Worse, you are likely to discover that their freedom necessitates the violation of your freedom. The only way freedom can be rationally viewed is as the freedom for each individual to do as he pleases, so long as he does not commit aggression against anyone else. Presidential candidates love to talk about freedom, even while telling us how they intend to further limit our freedoms. They do this by manufacturing "rights" out of thin air. The last batch of candidates was especially bold in this respect. The problem is that all artificially created rights are anti-freedom. Because in order to fulfill one person's rights, another person's must be violated. At the heart of such thinking is what I call GAVEC. (That stands for guiltism, angerism, villainism, envyism, and covetism.) People suffering from GAVEC are usually unable to achieve success in a free society. Thus they yearn for an external force (government) to "level the playing field" and equalize results. True freedom means freedom for the "poor," the "rich," the "handicapped," the "oppressed," the "weak," and the "strong." Simply put, it means freedom for everyone. Think about this as the 2010 candidates start to step up their promises to fulfill artificially created rights. Everything in life has a price. And, make no mistake about it, the price of artificially created rights is the exchange of your rights for someone else's. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, "Is that what I really want -- for me or my children?" I would hope not. [Ed. Note: To learn how to survive and prosper during the turbulent years ahead, check out Robert Ringer's powerful audio series Succeeding in a World of Chaos. And be sure to sign up for a FREE subscription to his one-of-a-kind e-letter A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World.] ----------------------------------------------Highly Recommended --------------------------------------------------- $440,000 From the Lost and Found - A Nebraska family got a $440,000 estate from a long lost uncle. Thousands collect money like this every day. Forgotten bank accounts. Utility deposits. Old money orders. It's all part of a $36 billion "unclaimed cash fund." Read more... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Important Sales Insight: People often feel guilty about saying "no." After you've spent time trying to persuade them to buy something, they feel bad about just saying "no." They may say "no," but there is lingering guilt for having wasted your time. This is especially true if you've been helpful and informative. As a salesperson (and we are all salespeople), you should take advantage of that feeling. Not in a direct way, because that will create resentment. But indirectly and subtly. Let's say you are trying to sell a customer a new database-management software package. When he hears the price -- half a million dollars -- he says, "No way. That's way too expensive for me." You should then employ the "drop in the bucket" technique. In other words, show him that $500,000 is nothing compared with what he will make and save by using your new software. If he still he says "no," don't take that as final. Every time he says "no," his piggy bank of guilt gets fuller. So now what you do is unveil Option B. In this case, it's revamping his existing software for $150,000. He listens at first because he feels he owes it to you -- and because the price is so much lower. But you hit him with benefit after benefit, pitching this second option with as much force as you did the first one. At some point, he may begin to feel that he is getting as much value for $150,000 as he would have gotten by investing $500,000. When that happens, he will give you signals. He may nod his head. He may make conciliatory remarks. When he does, he's ready to buy. Go for it. If Option B doesn't work, you now have three golden coins in the guilt piggy bank. Launch immediately into Option C. With each consecutive option rejected, the piggy bank gets fuller. The final option is something like, "I'm going to go back to the drawing board and see if I can come up with a solution that meets all your needs, including pricing. If I can do that, will you be willing to listen?" Ninety-nine percent of your prospects will give you a "yes." So instead of walking away with nothing, you've got a relationship with someone who will be favorably inclined to buy something from you if you can meet his needs. Accumulate 10 such "guilty" prospects and you've got several sales waiting to happen. Bonus Application: This technique works just as well when you're trying to sell ideas. Let's say you want to persuade your partner to invest in a new product line to add balance to your business. The budget you've prepared will require $250,000 over six months. He doesn't like the risk. So you shoot back with an alternative -- a way to try out part of the new line to get an indication of whether it would work. This would cost only $65,000. It will be difficult for him to say "no." But if he does, you keep going until you get a "yes" to something. That something is a psychological check that he will be inclined to cash sometime in the future. The trick to walking away with something is to plan your second and third options in advance. Each offer must be hard-hitting, detailed, and enticing. Get the data you need and double-check your numbers, so it won't seem as if you are desperately shooting from the hip. You know those parents who say they want to be their children's "best friends"? You know the ones I'm talking about. Those obnoxious moms and pops with six-pack abs and designer jeans who have fun smoking pot with their kids and passing them candy-flavored condoms. Well, I'm not going to make fun of them today. I'm going to make fun of business owners who essentially do the same thing. I'm talking about executives who act like Steve Carell in "The Office" -- the ones who believe that being a good leader starts and ends with making their employees like them. I have only one employee -- and I do admit that I want her to like me. But I do my damndest to keep that urge out of my head when I'm interacting with her. My job is not to make her happy. I'm the boss! It's her job to make me happy! Yes, you should be fair and pleasant with the people who work for you. But you do neither yourself nor them a favor by treating them like your buddies. In particular, don't do any of the following: - "Share" your personal problems with them
- Try to solve their personal problems
- Get involved in personal disputes between them
- Try to cheer them up when they are feeling down
You are in business for one purpose: to provide value to your customers. If you focus on that and encourage your employees to do the same, you'll enjoy a pleasant business relationship with them. And that, really, is what you both want. ---------------------------------------------- Highly Recommended --------------------------------------------------- Cross Heart Attack and Stroke Off Your List of Things to Worry About... Once you have your first stroke or heart attack, your chances of another are very high. But they don't have to be!
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- Earlier this year, at a conference in New York, Bob Bly outlined exactly how he brought in $16,000 a month -- just six months after he started his first online business. Sure, Bob is a veteran copywriter and the author of more than 70 books. But when it comes to the Internet, he was starting from scratch. It's too late for you to attend that event. But the cameras were rolling...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My "Heisting Hall of Fame Headlines" article recently ran in the American Writers & Artists Inc. Golden Thread newsletter. It got quite a response: "It is probably the best one I have read in ages." -- W.L.
** "Excellent. As usual... the king of copywriting teachers offers a gem. More articles by Michael Masterson." **
"It taught me a great lesson on headlines. I am currently writing a Web page for a gun dealer. After I read this article I came up with this headline: 'Under the 2nd amendment you have the right to own a gun.'" -- J.R.
** "Great advice... never hurts to get back to the basics! More stuff like this... breaking down a tool and really making it simple." -- Catherine ** "Today when I opened my e-mail I thought just for a second about what today's topic would be. And for the first time since I became a subscriber, the article damned near knocked me out of my chair. I had no idea that what we consider ancient would have such a positive effect on me and the way I normally think. "WOW!!! And you'd be surprised that I have seen this headline before and never even thought about the underlying effects it has on the reader. I know it opened up my way of thinking and the emotions I felt. And thank you for taking the time to really get down to the nitty gritty of the article." -- J.H. ** "One of the best issues. Really sparked some ideas that I can apply immediately." ---------------------------------------------- Highly Recommended --------------------------------------------------- The Simple Six-Figure Marketing Strategy - Paul Lawrence spent less than $100 to start his first business. He used just one marketing plan. Soon he had so many customers, he hired someone to do the work. He went after new business. He used his marketing plan again. Almost instantly, he was making $4,000 a month. The people he sold the business to (so he could finish college -- paid for by the sale, by the way) used the same plan. They are making $100,000 a year. Read more... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Laissez-faire (lay-zay-FARE) -- French for "allow to do" -- is the economic policy of allowing markets to be free of intervention by the government. Example (as used by Robert Ringer today): "To the laissez-faire businessman, freedom means an end to all government regulation. To the communist, freedom can be achieved only when individual incentive has been crushed and 'the people' own everything." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We want your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Email us at: AskETR@ETRFeedback.com | 
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