There’s a delicate balance between skill set, mind set and getting off your assets. Your skill set is how you incorporate the scripts and tangible aspects of what you do as a marketer; it’s the X’s & O’s of the game. The mind set is what you have going on in your head about what you’re doing as a marketer, how you feel or view what you’re doing. And getting off your assets is taking action and putting the skill set and mind set into action and actually doing what you know and feel.
In this article I’m going to cover the mind set aspect and put you on a path to realizing the ‘why’ you’re doing what you do. People buy things for 2 reasons; a need or a desire. What are the reasons your customers are buying what you sell? There’s a correlation between the 2, why you do what you do and why people are buying what you sell. The 2 must mesh together, you must truly believe you provide value to your customers and they must interpret the value of what you offer. I have been in the face-to-face marketing and sales game for over 20 years. Many things have changed such as technology, cell phones, social media, etc. But some things never change, such as the psychological reasons why people buy or what motivates people to succeed. Napoleon Hill, the author of “Think and Grow Rich,” wrote his epic book on the mindset of successful leaders 70 years ago and those same psychological principals still apply today! You can have good marketing systems and scripts but without the right mindset a canvasser or event marketer are missing the other half needed to succeed for the long term.
Want or Need?
Why do your prospects buy? They buy for their reasons not yours. If your company hasn’t presented you with a list of reasons why the prospect buys then you must develop one for yourself. Talk with a seasoned marketing or salesperson and ask why their customers are buying, or put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself, ‘why would you have a need or want for your product?’
For example, if you’re selling replacement windows why would the customer have a want or need? Let’s say the prospect’s existing situation is they have windows that are original, 12-years older or more. Their reasons for buying may include:
- Hard to open
- They’re difficult to clean
- Locks don’t work well
- Drafts
- Higher energy bills
These are problems they’d have with their current situations. Each has a problem the customer wants to solve or the benefit they’d gain by installing your windows. The benefit or solution is why the customer will get their windows replaced in this example.
I also work with funeral/ cemetery pre-planning services. Think about this product, it’s something a person will buy and never get to experience the value of. In this case people aren’t buying the product to get the benefit themselves, but save their family from having to go through the challenges of making those decisions and finances after the fact; and being influenced by the emotions at the time that can dictate their decision making process.
Every customer makes a buying decision with a purpose. Knowing what their purposes or motivations are will help you better connect with the customer. When you know what they’re motivated by you can focus on their hot buttons (motivations). At this point in marketing to your prospect you want to focus on what they want, before addressing what they need.
“We as a species are addicted to stories. Even when the body goes to sleep the mind stays up all night telling itself stories.” Jonathan Gottschall
The list I provided above of why prospects buy replacement windows can be memorized and ‘delivered’ to a prospect, but in training coupled with compelling story helps the marketer deliver a presentation with more emotion to the prospect. Of replacement windows, telling of the little old lady who doesn’t have to get out the bucket and ladder to clean her windows is a more compelling, memorable image than telling someone the windows will be easier to clean because they tilt in. Facts tell and stories sell. Facts will talk to the mind, but stories will engage the heart. No doubt your customers have shared their stories of before owning your product or service and how things are for them now. Catalogue those stories and strategically share them in your training. These will become the compelling causes that connect your prospects to your products and services.
“Sales is the transference of emotion.” Zig Ziglar
Not until you become emotionally involved in the presentation will the prospect become engaged by you, your presentation or product. This is a mental game. You may not get excited about your product or service, but you can get excited about what it will do for your prospects. Here’s an example how stories can help you and the prospect become emotionally connected and you can transfer the value of what you sell in an instant; in the time it takes to tell a story.
I’ve mentioned a private coaching client is in the pre-arranged funeral/ cemetery services business. It’s not a business one can easily get excited over. The subject is difficult and the product is pretty morbid. But the sale is made easier with stories. Here’s one we use in a sales presentation. Picture a husband and wife sitting for a presentation. Most think the husband will pass before the wife, but with this story we paint a realistic possibility and it puts the prospect into a real situation, one they know they may face in the future, but aren’t (don’t want to be) thinking about. The sales person turns to the husband (in front of his wife) and asks, “God forbid your wife goes before you and you get a call from the funeral home and they ask you to bring Mary’s dress down that afternoon, the one she will wear for eternity. You’re now standing and staring at all of her outfits in front of the closet, what dress would you bring?” At that moment in time this man will have more on his mind and uncertainty than what dress she’d want to wear. It immediately sells the value of making those decisions now instead of later. This is an example of how a story can engage the heart of the prospect and help marketers realize clearly the purpose of what they’re doing is to help people avoid these types of situations. Now you’ll have to forgive me if that was a little too morbid, or if you’ve recently lost a loved one. It wasn’t my intent to stir your emotions, rather demonstrate how emotions can be leveraged in proving the value of what you market. I help clients, regardless of how ordinary their product might seem, to discover the stories and pictures that create emotion for people to take action.
“Without a compelling cause, our employees are just putting in time. Their minds might be engaged but, their hearts are not. Meaning precedes motivation.” Lee J. Colan
The stories drive both you and the prospects. Don’t underestimate the power of story-telling. Find the stories and tell them and you’ll experience the power behind them. The stories will give you control over the marketing calls. You’ll walk and talk with confidence and people want to work with people with confidence. The scripts are important, but you have to make them yours and add your purpose into them.
So list the problems your company’s products and services solve. Figure out what people want in your products and services and build your stories for each. Every day you’re going to feel the pressures of the daily grind of the job, but being in tune for the reasons ‘why’ you do what you do will re-energize you.
Now, What’s Your Purpose?
Do you ever listen to the radio station WII-FM? What’s In It For Me? Your customers do. They’re only interested in what they get. Up to this point I’ve talked about what motivates them to buy from you. The second half of the equation though is what’s in it for you? The job is a vehicle to achieve what you want.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you do, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Mia Angelo
Motivation is personal and internal. You are the only one who can motivate you. The late Zig Ziglar in his career spoke in front of hundreds and thousands of people from around the world. On his travels and the people and cultures he spoke with, he found there were 8 specific things consistent among people. He asked the audience members one simple question, what do want in life? They’re answers almost all fell in these 8 categories:
- Be happy
- Be healthy
- Be Prosperous
- Be Personally secure
- Have friends
- Have Peace of mind
- Have Good family relationships
- Have Hope for the future
Most people are going through the motions of their job waiting for the ‘thing’ to come along in their life that will really make them happy. I find that success is not a place that people reach, but rather a state of mind they maintain.
“The 2 most important dates in your life are, the day you’re born and the day you realize why.” Mark Twain
This is one success principal that is universal among all successful people.
“Where there is no vision, people parish.” Proverbs Chapter 29, verse 8
Don’t set goals, rather list the goal as an outcome and then visualize achieving that goal. Because it’s the beginning of a New Year I’ll use the example of losing weight, as it’s a common New Year’s resolution. Here’s how the goal as an outcome is important.
Imagine you set the goal to lose 25 pounds. That’s just a number, it’s not emotionally engaging. What’s the purpose behind wanting to lose those pounds? Now, let’s imagine that you’re getting married in 4 or 5 months and you want to lose the weight because you want to look your best for your wedding; being able to look fit in your tux or dress. Now the goal is the outcome and the journey to the goal is driven by the vision of achieving that goal. You’re not working to lose the weight, rather wanting to look great on your wedding day. The proper way to list the goal is how you phrase it. List the goal as an outcome already achieved rather than a target in the future. For example; I will be (insert target weight) on my wedding day happy and healthy. Do you see listing the goal differently creates a clearer picture, emotion and purpose, rather than the dry I want to lose 25 pounds?
Lastly the same psychological principals I spoke about earlier can also be used in your recruiting and interviewing systems for marketers. The motivations of why people buy things are the same on why job candidates respond to your ads and come into interviews. Your recruiting and interview efforts need to hit the emotional hot buttons to attract people to your opportunity. For my clients I help them use these sample principles to find the ideal canvassers and marketers. I suggest you refer to the live call from my Silver Level Telecoaching that much of this article is derived from.
I can attest to it first hand, living and working with purpose will make the difference between dreading the job and feeling fulfilled in what you do. If you have questions about this article you can contact me at cthompson@canvassking.com or post your questions at www.AskTheCanvassKing.com
Chris Thompson
The Canvass King