Q&A

From ASCII Columbus: Increase Your Sales Through Neuromarketing

jim roddy

By Jim Roddy, VP of Marketing, RSPA

Neuromarketing

Marketing consultant and author Roger Dooley, the afternoon educational keynote at the ASCII Success Summit on May 29, said neuroscientists believe we use only a fraction of our brain power. Then why do I feel like my skull is going to explode after trying to absorb the wealth of information Dooley shared with the nearly 100 channel executives at the ASCII event?

Dooley’s presentation, titled “Selling To The Unconscious Mind: Closing More Business Through Neuromarketing” included an avalanche of neuroscience nuggets that solutions providers can apply to their sales and marketing efforts. I tried assembling these in a logical order but, like I said earlier, my brain is mush after trying to keep up with Dooley’s data. Here goes:

  • To increase your sales and negotiation success, socialize with your prospect first; don’t just launch into your business pitch. When two parties have a rapport and find commonalities with each other, their negotiations are considerably more successful than if the relationship is business only.
  • Show attributes you share with your customer to create a “liking effect.” This will make you more likeable and more persuasive. First you have to find out what you and the prospect have in common — don’t guess. This shows customers and prospects that you are like them. A good example of creating a “liking effect” is the PetSmart “About Us” website that features photos of executives with their pets.
  • Use stories to engage your customer’s brain. Scientific tests have shown that within seconds of storytelling, the brain activity of the listener mirrors the activity of the story teller, giving them a near instant connection. Shape your testimonials into story format for maximum impact and memorability.
  • Set high but realistic expectations to improve the customer experience. A test of identical wines — one bottle labeled with a $5 price tag and the other with a $45 price — resulted in a significantly more favorable rating of the “pricier” wine.
  • Lead with your most expensive product. It makes everything else look more affordable by comparison. In the restaurant business this is called “Lead With Lobster.” A “no” to a big request increases the chance of a “yes” to a small one.
  • Avoid currency symbols. Research has shown that sales increase when the “$” is eliminated from a price. Ever notice that many restaurant menus lack currency symbols? It’s not because they’re trying to save ink.
  • Decoy marketing includes the tactic of adding a less attractive offer to boost sales of a similar offer. If you want to sell a bundled offering, list Product A at $59/month, Product B at $125 per month, and the Product A/B bundle at $130/month. Studies show the vast majority of your sales will be more expensive A/B bundle vs. selling just Product A. And of course nobody buys Product B.
  • Percents that look bigger sell more product. The offer of a “50% bonus” sells more than a “35% discount.”
  • Precision makes prices more believable. Don’t list a price at $500.00. A more effective technique is listing the price at $497.62 or $502.33.
  • Don’t hesitate to compliment your customer. If you flatter someone, they will like you more and recall more of what you tell them. Even insincere flattery works this way! But for the sake of credibility, stay sincere with your compliments. As sales guru Zig Ziglar said, “The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity.”
  • If you make a mistake with a customer, apologize as quickly and simply as possible. This will eliminate the “rudeness and revenge” syndrome that occurs when humans feel they are treated rudely. They naturally seek revenge against the offender.
  • Four words that double persuasion: “But you are free …” People feel pressure to make a decision, and this phrase — which lets them know they have a choice — relieves that pressure and enables them to make a decision. Don’t believe this is true? The conclusion is based on data from 42 studies on 22,000 subjects.

The ASCII Success Summit – Columbus is being held May 28-29 at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Columbus, OH. It is one of eight solution provider-focused conferences ASCII is hosting in 2014. For more information on ASCII, go to www.BSMinfo.com/go/InsideASCII.