CLIP-IT
OG NOTES (AUG-2018)
Judgement Errors (irrational mind)
Key Sales Take-Aways
Walk in their shoes:
Change your focus from what YOU consider as the most important aspects about your solution and turn your attention to what THEY will consider as the most important. Once determined...Illustrate how your solution plays into their specific belief and bring it top of mind as much as you can.
Take the feature/concept that will most impact the buying decision and figure out how you can simplify it in a way that gives the customer a better understanding.
Explain it to Grandma
A good tip/piece of advice when it comes to simplifying, is something my first boss told me, and it has stuck with me ever since… Explain it to Grandma.
He was referring to when I deliver an insurance presentation, but it can really apply to anything.
He said, “your Mom and Dad may not know much about how it works, but they are at least somewhat familiar. Your Grandma, however, has been out of the work force for some time and most likely doesn’t have a clue about how it works. So, take that next step and simplify it even more by delivering your presentation with the thought that no one has any idea what you’re talking about.”
Moral of the story: think about how you can simplify the message you’re putting out, then after that, simplify it again.
Be the Expert
Show the buyer that you are the expert in whatever you’re selling. I’m in the belief that salespeople really should be the expert, as the information you’re giving the buyer will have a bigger weight than what they already know and hopefully what your competitor is sharing.
I’ll use a financial advisor for example: I have VERY limited knowledge in that field nor is it something I can devote the time to learning, aside from basics.
So when I talk with a financial advisor, I have to assume they are the expert and he/she will recommend what’s in my best interest.
I really hope that’s the case but I don’t know for sure, so whoever can best convince me they know what they are talking about and who can best align their solution with my needs, has the best chance of getting my business.
Since everything we do is strategic, it’s even more impactful if you narrow the focus of what you call yourself an expert in…
If you go into a dealership to buy a car and the salesman conveys he’s an expert on cars, would that do much for you? No, probably not - that’s not very unique and we all know loads of people who are “car guys”
What about if you’re looking for something fuel efficient and the salesperson is an expert on all things hybrids, electric, and eco diesel? Absolutely. The more narrowed down or targeted your focus is, the more impactful it will be on a buyer.
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Familiar Illusions (irrational mind)
Key Sales Take-Aways
Start w. Ease/Fear the Strain
You want to invoke cognitive ease right off the bat. The key is to ‘get them on your side’…
• Be relatable - Did you notice I started the presentation with a joke? I do this every time and I have been for years. I want my audience to loosen up and view me more as a peer, rather than someone they are forced to hear speak.
o Jokes tend to put our minds at ease, so doing it at the beginning can help alleviate any strain that people of the audience may be experiencing.
• Same goes when selling 1x1. Talk about what they want to hear, act genuinely interested by asking more questions aimed at keeping them talking… “that sounds interesting, tell me more about that.”
You want to invoke cognitive ease right off the bat. The key is to ‘get them on your side’…
• Be relatable - Did you notice I started the presentation with a joke? I do this every time and I have been for years. I want my audience to loosen up and view me more as a peer, rather than someone they are forced to hear speak.
o Jokes tend to put our minds at ease, so doing it at the beginning can help alleviate any strain that people of the audience may be experiencing.
• Same goes when selling 1x1. Talk about what they want to hear, act genuinely interested by asking more questions aimed at keeping them talking… “that sounds interesting, tell me more about that.”
Once they are in a state of cognitive ease and “on your side” you can now get them to fear the possibility of something that might cause them strain. How?
Use COMMON examples that have BIG impact
• A good way to increase people’s fear of a bad outcome is to remind them of a related incident in which things went wrong;
• a good way to increase people’s confidence is to remind them of a similar situation in which everything worked out for the best.
• A good way to increase people’s fear of a bad outcome is to remind them of a related incident in which things went wrong;
• a good way to increase people’s confidence is to remind them of a similar situation in which everything worked out for the best.
From a sales stand point, the former will be more impactful. Highlighting a ‘pain’ from another client is a good way to help influence a decision in your favor, as they don’t want to end up with the same negative outcome.
We overestimate something we hear often or find easy to remember, we give priority to bad news, and we ignore statistics for mental images.
Here’s an example of how I positioned my sales pitch around this…
We overestimate something we hear often or find easy to remember, we give priority to bad news, and we ignore statistics for mental images.
Here’s an example of how I positioned my sales pitch around this…
EXAMPLES
When presenting an insurance benefit called critical illness, which pays a sum of money if diagnosed with a serious disease, I started the presentation by asking, “show of hands - how many people know someone who has had a heart attack, stroke, or cancer.” (usually everyone)
• This gives the audience a mental image of a bad outcome everyone has experienced in some capacity and gives a perfect segue into highlighting the fact that the product is specifically designed for helping pay the out of pocket expenses associated with those illnesses.
You can use this in multiple ways to make your message more persuasive…
• What potential ramifications may occur if the customer doesn’t go with you solution?
• What pain did the customer go through with a pervious or current solution?
Remember, use common examples that are easy to remember and have a big impact. When positioning as a loss, an effective but subtle strategy is to get them to think of their own situation rather than doing it for them…
When presenting an insurance benefit called critical illness, which pays a sum of money if diagnosed with a serious disease, I started the presentation by asking, “show of hands - how many people know someone who has had a heart attack, stroke, or cancer.” (usually everyone)
• This gives the audience a mental image of a bad outcome everyone has experienced in some capacity and gives a perfect segue into highlighting the fact that the product is specifically designed for helping pay the out of pocket expenses associated with those illnesses.
You can use this in multiple ways to make your message more persuasive…
• What potential ramifications may occur if the customer doesn’t go with you solution?
• What pain did the customer go through with a pervious or current solution?
Remember, use common examples that are easy to remember and have a big impact. When positioning as a loss, an effective but subtle strategy is to get them to think of their own situation rather than doing it for them…
Claims Ex: “We recently had a client who was in a ski accident and couldn’t work.” Take it from there…
• “The company didn’t have these policies, so that employee lost out on thousands of dollars of potential benefit. We hope you’ll never have to use this policy but unfortunately accidents can happen, so it’s important to be protected in case.”
• Being in Colorado, skiing is an example everyone can relate to and also something where most people know of someone who has had an injury.
• Because of loss aversion, this way is more impactful than if I said, “the company did have the policy so the employee was covered & received a few thousand dollars.”
The thought of gaining money after an injury sounds nice, but the thought of losing money after an injury sounds much worse.
Conclusion
When you’re selling, determine the main area(s) you’re trying to position and consciously think of these three things…
• Familiarity: put your point in terms of something the person you’re talking to is more familiar with.
• High Impact: Whether you’re positioning a positive or negative outcome, do it in a way that will leave an impression.
• Repetitiveness: Mention the main point you’re trying to get across as many times as possible. The more we hear it, the more familiar we are (or at least think we are).
The findings in this section fits well within the findings from the last section and one conclusion for both should have been made clear… over-simplify.
• I really try to make a diligent effort to do this throughout every sales interaction. This presentation is a good example. My goal is always to simplify a message in a way my audience better understands.
• “The company didn’t have these policies, so that employee lost out on thousands of dollars of potential benefit. We hope you’ll never have to use this policy but unfortunately accidents can happen, so it’s important to be protected in case.”
• Being in Colorado, skiing is an example everyone can relate to and also something where most people know of someone who has had an injury.
• Because of loss aversion, this way is more impactful than if I said, “the company did have the policy so the employee was covered & received a few thousand dollars.”
The thought of gaining money after an injury sounds nice, but the thought of losing money after an injury sounds much worse.
Conclusion
When you’re selling, determine the main area(s) you’re trying to position and consciously think of these three things…
• Familiarity: put your point in terms of something the person you’re talking to is more familiar with.
• High Impact: Whether you’re positioning a positive or negative outcome, do it in a way that will leave an impression.
• Repetitiveness: Mention the main point you’re trying to get across as many times as possible. The more we hear it, the more familiar we are (or at least think we are).
The findings in this section fits well within the findings from the last section and one conclusion for both should have been made clear… over-simplify.
• I really try to make a diligent effort to do this throughout every sales interaction. This presentation is a good example. My goal is always to simplify a message in a way my audience better understands.
As I mentioned, there are nearly 200 recognized biases and heuristics so there are still A LOT that I haven’t covered. The next section includes all of them that I thought were interesting or have a “sales take-away” from, but don’t have a “home” for.