If there’s one thing I loved about the old 1990s Star Trek Series (the one with the Klingon and the bald guy and the robot who just wanted to be loved) it was the *three* comfy chairs that they had on the bridge.
I mean, in the “old school” Shatner series, there was just one chair. And Kirk sat there like a well coiffed King and lorded it over the rest of the crew.
But in “Next Gen” there were three chairs all crunched in next to each other.
One for the Captain.
On for the First Mate.
And one (and this is where this article starts to make sense) for the EMPATH.
Deanna Troi, the ship’s counselor, was a buxom half-alien brunette decked out in a rather daring jumpsuit.
And Picard kept her right there on his left side during tense negotiations, big battles and even dinner parties because she UNDERSTOOD people.
She knew what they were feeling.
She knew what they were going through. (Heck, she even had crazy alien powers that almost *made* her understand people.)
Now, if you know anything about these crazy creatures we call humans you know that what we all *really* want is to be understood.
In fact, one of the best ways to *calm* somebody down if they’re mad is to simply say “I understand your point of view. I went through something similar once and if I was going through what you’re going through, I’d feel the same way.” (I had a customer service guy do this one on me not so long ago and it worked like magic.)
And great salesmen know that if you can show that you UNDERSTAND the problems and the feelings that a prospect is going through, then you can radically increase your chances of making a sale. (Especially if what you’ve got to offer really is the answer to their dreams.)
But How Do You Use Empathy In Your Marketing?
After all, when you’re talking about a website or a video or a radio ad or a sales letter or whatever else, you’re not really there. It’s not like you can play off your prospect, pick up off their verbal and non verbal cues and figure out what they’re feeling.
One great way to establish empathy in your marketing is to tell a story about how you went through the same thing.
For instance, if you were selling a back pain remedy you would tell the story about how horrible and frustrating it was when you were wracked by back pain yourself.
You’d say something like:
I remember the last time my back really went out.
I was shuffling back to my apartment when I felt it. That sick little click in my lower back. Suddenly all the strength went out of my right leg and I felt that nauseous horror flow through my body. That dull, awful throb.
And, honestly, I just about broke down crying right there on the street thinking about what I knew was coming next. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars at the chiropractor. Endless hours stuck lying on my floor and staring at the ceiling. And that deep, deep feeling of frustration, anger and even shame at what I must have done wrong to deserve this.”
(I could go on. As you might be able to tell I’ve had my fair share of experience with back pain. Mostly better now though =-))
In fact telling “I’m just like you” stories is one of the core strategies for selling just about anything.
And no matter what you’ve got to sell, whether it’s financial advice, massages or crazy little widgets, you can probably think back to a time that you went through the same problem that your prospects are.
But What If You Can’t?
What if you’ve never experienced “that sick click?” (or whatever other problem is plaguing your customers that you’re going to solve.)
That’s when you use what I like to call “maybe bullets.”
They’re not the only way to throw empathy into your marketing, but they are one way and, in my experience, they work really well.
What’s a “maybe bullet?”
A “Maybe” bullet is a short statement that “paces” the feelings and emotions that your customer are going through and shows them that you UNDERSTAND them.
For instance, for a sales letter I wrote aimed at parents of children with ADD/ADHD I put the following “Maybe Bullets” way up early on the page:
Maybe your child has just recently been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and you’re smartly scouring the internet looking for sound, proven advice on how to manage or cure this problem and give your child all the advantages he or she deserves in life . . .
Maybe you’re an ADD/ADHD “veteran” who’s tried drug after overpriced drug and cure after ineffective cure, has seen the mounting body of evidence against pharmaceutical ADD/ADHD drugs and is worried sick about what this “bad medicine” is doing to your child.
Maybe you yourself are a teenaged or adult sufferer of ADD or ADHD searching for a way to find the concentration and focus you need . . . and are ready to finally say goodbye to the side effects, cost and danger of prescription drugs.
And then the letter goes on.
Now, these bullets aren’t expected to carry the full empathy load themselves. (And if you look at the website for this product at Treat ADHD Naturally you’ll see a lot more empathy building.)
But they are a great way of calling out nice an early that you UNDERSTAND where your customers are coming from, that you’re not just some soulless, heartless corporation and that maybe, just maybe, you’re in this for more than just the money.
Used properly, Maybe bullets (and empathetic copy in general) are the next best thing to actually listening to someone’s problems.
And showing them that you really do understand.
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Hey Folks,
Chris “Mr. Moneyfingers” Haddad here welcoming you back to the Hardworking Words Newsletter.
In today’s issue:
-Selling To The Lizard Brain - Hot, Profitable Emotions
-A quick shout out to my dear old Dad.
-A very special offer for readers of this newsletter.
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SELLING TO THE LIZARD BRAIN - Hot, Profitable Emotions
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Quick quiz . . . why do people *really* buy things?
Do they buy for logical, consistent *boring* reasons?
Or do they buy for hot, passionate *emotional* reasons?
Well, if you’ve been banging around the marketing world for any length of time (or have ever actually *sold* anything) you know that . . .
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People *Buy* Based On Emotion . . . .
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People buy your stuff because of *feelings* . . . .
But they *Justify* With Facts . . .
Why does the out of shape 45 year old ex-football player buy a monstrous humvee?
Because he wants to *feel* big and powerful and virile and tough and unstoppable . . . (though he’ll *tell you* that he bought it because it keeps him and his family safe. Very logical. Really.)
Why does the snarky copywriter and marketing consultant spend his hard-earned money on a swanky new iPhone?
Because it makes him *feel* hip and cool and special . . . (though he’ll tell you that he *needs* it to stay on top of his email and to do important work while out of the office. Good one.)
Why does the yuppie new mom splurge on a *designer* baby stroller when the old fashioned *push* cart will do just fine?
Because she likes the way it *feels* when she’s walking down the street pushing her bundle of joy ahead of her and drawing envious gazes from baby-crazed women everywhere (though she’ll *tell you* that she just wanted the highest *quality* cart . .. and after all, it was 20 percent off!)
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“But What Emotions Actually Make People Buy?”
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If you ask any old-school sales guys, they’ll tell you that there are really only 2 reasons that people buy:
Greed . . .
And Fear.
And to a degree, they’ve got a point.
*Fear* of losing something, of having your house broken into, of having your wife seduced away from you is a *powerful* motivator . . .and if you can allay a powerful fear you can sell what you’ve got like hot cakes.
And playing on the “Greed Gland” is a tactic that goes way back to caveman times. I mean, heck, the whole reason I call myself “Mr. Moneyfingers” is to tickle that little greedy place in the back of a client’s brain.
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But Greed And Fear Aren’t The Be All And End All Of Emotional Selling
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In fact there are a whole *slew* of emotions that you can use to crawl your way into a prospect’s head and appeal to that most primal, emotional “lizard brain.”
What are they? Well here are just a few of my favorites . . . .
* Pride - Can you position your product as something that will give your prospect pride? Or will *not* buying what you’ve got suck away their feeling of self worth?
* Envy (this is one of my favorites) - Can you make your prospect *envy* you or someone who’s used your stuff for the results they got . . . . or can you paint a picture of how they’ll be envied by others once they make the smart choice and buy today?
* Shame - Can your product or service help your prospect defeat a feeling of shame? Or will they *feel* ashamed if they *don’t* buy and something goes wrong?
*Anger - Are your prospects *mad* about something? Are they sick of being *ripped off* by some of your competitors? Position your product as a way to get *revenge.*
* Pain - (physical or emotional.) If your prospect is hurting, show that your product can relieve that pain and they’ll buy without even bothering to justify with logic (as a back pain sufferer for years, I can’t even tell you how much I spent on whacky devices and “wonder cures.”)
* Gratitude/Guilt - Give your prospects value for *free* and a lot of times they’ll buy from you to say “thank you” . . . or because they feel like they should.
* Lust - Just turn on the TV . . . you’ll see Lust selling in full effect.
And on and on and on.
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“Powerful Stuff, Chris. But It Feels A Little . . . Um . .. Sleazy”
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Now, if you’re not a jaded marketing weasel, all this talk of “emotional selling” can sound downright manipulative.
I mean, after all, shouldn’t the *quality* of what you’ve got to sell be all that matters?
Sure it should..
Then again, we *should* all look like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, we *should* all be rich, we *should* have perfect health and on and on down the line.
Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way.
But if you can *imagine* making more sales, making more money, building your business, actually *helping* people with your products and services, becoming the envy of all your friends and making your old boss go positively *green* . . . well, then you need to stop focusing on “shoulds” and start selling to the heart.
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SHOUT OUT TO MY DEAR OLD DAD
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April 1 is the birthday of my dear, departed marketing *genius* of a father. Kenneth George Haddad died just over a 11 years ago, but before he went he taught me *ton* about how to deal with people and how to sell to (and from) the gut. Thanks, Dad.
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A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR SOLO PROS WHO WANT TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE *MONEY*
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If you’re already pulling down 6 figures (or more) in your solo business, this isn’t for you.
But if you’ve been struggling in your business and want to make it to 6 figure land, pay attention.
Beth Yockey Jones and I are hard at work in our secret lab developing a program to help solo pros (folks who are self employed but don’t have or want employees) make some really good money.
And we need your help.
If you’re interested in cracking the 6 figure code, shoot me back an email and tell me what your *biggest* challenge is in your business and what topic you feel like you need the most help with.
And down the line I’ll send you something nice in return.
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