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DO TESTIMONIALS REALLY WORK?
Posted by: | CommentsDO TESTIMONIALS REALLY WORK?
Long before the internet came along, people have been giving testimonials for products. TV sales have always played a huge part in the conspicuous consumer society in which we 
live and still do so today. With the onset of the internet, we have been overwhelmed with the typical and quite annoying bottomless sales letter that is riddled with endorsements and testimonials to convince prospective buyers to purchase a product or service.
And with TV shopping channels like QVC and the Home Shopping Network, testimonials play an increasingly important role in selling. Or do they? The question is do they really work with everyone? The answer is NO, NO, NO!!!
In fact, only about half of the population cares about what others think about a product before they buy it. The other half simply couldn’t care less what other people say about what they are buying. Which type are you? And more important, which type are your customers? Just because you may like to hear what other people are saying about products before purchasing them doesn’t mean that all of your customers think the same way. Or you may not care about testimonials and yet some of your customers won’t buy your products without them.
Are you a person who thrives on hearing what others have to say about a particular product? Or are you a person who can’t stand listening to or to reading about what people are saying about a product or service that you are contemplating buying? And there is another possibility as well. Are you someone who occasionally likes to read or to hear testimonials from certain individuals? How you answer these questions is quite revelatory.
In fact, it will determine still another People Pattern™ that comprises what we call Personality Language™. It is called the Evaluation People Pattern™. This all important Evaluation People Pattern™ determines how an individual makes a judgment, and in the context of this discussion, how an individual makes a judgment to buy a product or service. The emphasis is on how and not why.
Basically there are two major elements that make up the Evaluation People Pattern™. There are some individuals who make decisions to buy based on internal criteria and then there are some individuals who make decisions to buy based on external criteria. Those who make buying decisions based on internal criteria have what we refer to as an Internal Referential Filter or People Pattern™. They simply know inside that what they are doing or what they are buying, in this case, is the right thing for them. Those who make buying decisions based on external criteria have what we refer to as an External Referential Filter or People Pattern™. They need to hear what others think and tend not to buy anything without this feedback.
There are also some Internal People who, under certain circumstances, don’t mind having an expert give advice or information about a product, and only if it is information from an expert and not just anyone offering their opinion.
The bottom line is that Internal People don’t need feedback from others when it comes to buying products or services (unless, as mentioned, they want expert information under some circumstances); and External People need feedback before they purchase something. External People are often incapable of buying something without hearing first what other people think about it.
What this means for you in sales is that you have to tailor your communication on your sales page and/or in your presentation to both include testimonials for External People as well as include phrases that target the Internal People among your customers. Tune in next time to learn how to communicate with both types of customers in your audience, those with an Internal Referential Filter and those with an External Referential Filter.
By Marilyne Woodsmall
MAKING SENSE OF DECISION MAKING: PART II
Posted by: | CommentsTHE LOOKS RIGHT BUYER
As we mentioned in our introductory overview of the Decision People Pattern™, there are four reasons why people make the decisions that they do. It is because something either:
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Looks right
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Sounds right
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Feels right or
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Makes Sense
When we discuss someone having one of the above four elements of the “Decision People Pattern™, what this means is that a person is using a particular formula which we call a mental “strategy” to make a given decision.
Today we are going to discuss the first component of the Decision People Pattern™, the looks right pattern. First, what does it mean to have a “looks right” decision making pattern? A looks right person literally makes decisions based on a visual representation in his or her mind that literally looks right to him or to her. In reality, what the person is doing is creating an ideal image and a series of each of the alternatives. What actually happens is that the looks right person is comparing each of the alternatives, outside of his or her conscious awareness, to the ideal in his or her mind. The right match between the ideal and one of the alternatives triggers the decision. If there is no match, the looks right person generates more alternatives and if there is still no match, then the person ends up looking for more data to make a decision or else settles for less.
We have greatly simplified the process here, for we normally teach these patterns in the context of an entire workshop. So this is simply a brief overview of the looks right buyer.
How would you tailor your approach to the looks right buyer? There are several things that you can do. First it will be to your advantage to present a proper physical appearance for the presentation, whether it be in person or on a video. Tidiness, good hygiene and neatness are all factors that appeal to a looks right buyer or customer. Think about how many times you’ve heard about someone not buying a product because the buyer did not like the way the seller looked. The basic overall impression that you give from the start is critical. Even if visual factors don’t mean anything to you, they are vital to making a sale with a looks right person.
In terms of the actual sale, make sure that you have visual material on hand. If it is an in-person presentation, have slides, photos and sufficient graphic material to support your sale. By not having the visual support, you are literally not meeting the looks right buyer in his world. Also, colors impact looks right people much more than black and white. Looks right people need to see the product you are selling or to see the result of your service. If it is a service you are providing, then you want to be able to show the potential customer the work done and the result. In today’s world, video clips afford a convenient and economical way to provide these visual stimuli to the looks right person.
If you are selling a product or service that lends itself to an actual demonstration, then by all means, do so. Show them how to use it and in your explanation, be certain to use visual language. Another effective strategy is to have other people in your video or in a one on one presentation to demonstrate how to use your product. Telling stories about the effectiveness of your product (always be truthful) is a huge part of selling to looks right buyers. This is because telling stories makes them create imagery in their minds.
So the bottom line is that to increase your sales, you have to be able to tailor your communication to the mindset of the looks right buyer by applying what you have learned about the looks right pattern of the Decision People Pattern™. You will be amazed at just how much you have grown in your own awareness of self and others.
Next time we will discuss the second component of the Decision People Pattern™.
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS, OR IS IT?
Posted by: | CommentsIT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS, OR IS IT?
By Marilyne Woodsmall
One of the biggest challenges for a salesperson is to 
know how much detail to give about a product or service. We have found that most salespeople have a tendency to keep talking until they get or lose the sale. Such an approach means that these salespeople are losing out on half of their potential customers. What they fail to realize is that some buyers want a lot of information and some require very little information.
The amount of information that a person wants or needs in a communication exchange is determined by what we refer to as the Global/Specific or Chunk Size Information People Pattern™. This powerful pattern reveals the quantity of information presented or how much information a person desires in a given communication.
The Chunk Size Information People Pattern™ (which is another element of one’s Personality Language™) is comprised of two types of people, and in the case of sales, of two distinctive types of buyers. Those who want a lot of information are called specific buyers and those who do not require a lot of information are called global buyers. Let us take a look at each.
Specific prospects want to know everything that there is to know about a product. They require a lot of information and a lot of detail in the information in order to make a buying decision. In fact, they will keep asking the salesperson for more and more detail. If the salesperson is not able to provide this, then the specific prospect will think that he or she is either not knowledgeable about the product that he or she is selling or that the salesperson has something to hide. Either way, it means bad news for the salesperson.
Global prospects, on the other hand, need very little information in order to make a buying decision. Too much information will turn them off, confuse them or make them suspicious. They will usually not ask detailed questions. If the salesperson keeps providing information they will not listen and will be completely turned off.
How does a salesperson know whether they are dealing with a global or specific buyer? Listen carefully to the way that the prospect describes his or her needs. Does the prospect provide a lot of specific details or does the prospect just give you vague, general information? Also, determine if the prospect asks a lot of questions or if he or she doesn’t ask questions at all.
The general rule of thumb is this. Provide the prospect with as much information as he or she needs to make a buying decision and no more. Often salespeople keep providing information in order to delay closing. This is a mistake. Close early and close often. If you close and the prospect needs more information, then they will ask for it. Once the prospect is sold, then shut up and close. Once you close, wait for a yes or a no. Adding more information at this point merely takes the prospect off the hook.
So the bottom line is to apply the Global/Specific Information People Pattern™ in all of your sales presentations to make a solid impact on the buyer or buyers with whom you are communicating. If you apply this pattern in sales, you will enhance your sales and you will connect with your customers more readily. If you don’t do this, you’ll be missing out on half of your customers and prospects and you will end up losing sales.
