We all know that honesty is the best policy. Just say whatever you have to say, and be honest and open about it. I’m sure your listener/reader will respect your honesty and at some point have a rational answer to whatever you’re proposing. Let’s look at some prime examples where this works perfectly:
- You’re on a first date, and of course you tell the other person exactly what you want out of the relationship, and everything you’ll expect from that person. Make sure to mention things like intimacy, kids, and other stuff people love to hear about on a first date.
- You’re a salesman/marketer, and when doing your presentation, you just lay it all on the table. Tell ‘em you want them to buy your most expensive product/model/service, all the extras you have in mind, all the hidden charges, and you want them to do this for the rest of their lives.
Will this honest approach sell anything/make you successful? Not a chance! I’m not saying that you should lie, because you should never do that when it comes to sales and marketing. Tell the truth, but not the whole truth. There is a quote that I strongly live by when selling to people:
“While people sometimes believe what they are told, they never doubt what they conclude.”
Selling is about telling a story, it’s about showing benefits of a product/service, but only to the point where the person can make their own conclusions about how good it is, and how right it feels. One way of doing this, is by asking questions. It works for both written and spoken language.
F.ex., instead of saying/writing “this product is the best, and it will do X and Y, which will make Z happen for you,” we can compare that to someone asking a couple of simple questions instead, like “what would it mean to you/your business if this product could deliver these things?,” “what would happen to you/your business if those goals aren’t met/if you don’t achieve that?” etc. Then they will start thinking positively about the product, and about all the bad things that will happen if they don’t buy it, and make conclusions about the positive impact it would have in their life.
Think about it. People are bothered by influential factors and probing salespeople every single day. When you’re eating dinner, do you want to buy socks or insurance? No! If you’re at work, you don’t want to buy whatever that cold calling salesperson is selling. What do we do most of the time this happens? We resist!
People resist unwelcome attempts to persuade them. Especially in these times, where they can search exactly what they want with keywords. So you have to grab their attention, first with a great headline, and then with something that makes their mind go “hmm”, and then something that will give them the conclusion that they are moving towards pleasure/success/income/whatever and away from pain/failure/loss etc.
These examples are of course extremely general, and questions/headlines have to be tailor made for the product/service you’re selling, but have that quote in mind next time you’re selling something, be it via a landing page or a phone call. Learn how to sell by asking questions, let the prospect come to a positive conclusion himself, and you’ll see some magic happening!
Framing questions like you did in your example is a great way to become externally focused. I think this is the reason that this strategy you have mentioned works so well. When we stop selling by focusing on “MEMEME and MY business” and start selling in a way that is externally focused on “You and YOUR business” selling becomes much easier.
Just like the video some one posted on a blog. You have to tell the buyer what they want. Don’t expect them to already want it.