Storytelling - The Great Motivator of PeopleWritten by Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE
In a data-driven world, facts and figures are order of day in sales calls, employee meetings, board rooms, and political assemblies. Traditionally, when a person is trying to convince someone else to do something they use logic of benefits and features - long sacred domain of anyone in sales.And they are missing boat. What truly moves us as human beings, what prompts us into action, is emotion. Imagination is conduit of emotion and well-crafted storytelling carries imagination. Consider this story: You place your hand on top of your head, only to feel sun radiate from your scalp. Sweat trickles down your back and once ironed shirt clings to your sides. The pavement roasts your feet even through your thick-soled shoes. You've been walking for a 45 minutes, trying to find office where you are scheduled to make a sales call. Suddenly, a swoosh of cold air swirls at your side as a young couple comes charging out of an ice cream parlor, licking swirls of raspberry and vanilla perched in a sugar cone… I'll bet you're ready for some ice cream! What engaged you was reliving of a common experience. I didn't need to itemize benefits of cooling off or list features of ice cream and this particular store. You were drawn in by your imagination. Facts tell. Emotion sells. You imagined how you would win over odds of heat by taking a break for ice cream. We follow leaders who capture us by stories that draw us in and give us purpose for being part of company. We buy products when we see or read of human experience with that product. (Remember Maytag Man?) And we accept call to action if we hear a compelling story about triumph over odds. Think about solicitation letters you get from non-profits. They are often stories of individuals who suffered greatly until non-profit's "product" allowed them to regain a semblance of their life.
| | 5 Powerful Ways To Get Zero Sales From Your WebsiteWritten by Al Martinovic
I want you to imagine a lemon. In your mind's eye, see its yellow skin. Imagine cutting it in half with a knife. Now pick up one lemon half and bring it up to your mouth and suck on juices. Do you notice how sharp tangy lemon juice could be? Does it make you pucker? Do you notice how your mouth is watering? ...Good! Now you realize power of words! See, one thing I was good at in beginning of my online career was not getting any sales. Really, I turned it into an art form. So with that said, I want to share with you my 5 all-time favorite ways of getting Zero sales from your website: 1. Headline and Sales Letter I don't need to have a powerful headline and a compelling sales letter for my site. And I definitely don't need to go to http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com and learn how to write powerful sales letters for fr*e. It's too much work. 2. Contact Information Why should I have my contact information on main page of my website. I don't want to build trust by posting my name, address, email, fax and telephone number on my site. I want to hide behind internet and in turn people can then hide their wallets from me. 3. Guarantee Why should I offer a bold gurantee for products I sell on my website. If people don't like product then it's too bad. I really don't care that it's been proven that longer your guarantee is, less returns and complaints you'll have. What does that stuff have to do with me?
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