Sales, branding, and a lesson from history

I have been watching a few specials about Hitler on the History channel the last few weeks, and got me thinking how this all relates to business.

First, Hitler solicited emotion from an entire nation with the flag and the schwastika (geeze...I can't spell)...and now that symbol elicits an entirely different type of emotion in people. Frankly, it makes my stomach turn.

Before the Nazi era, the schwastika symbol was used by different groups. For example, it meant "peace" to some Native American groups. Indeed, even the college I am attending used that symbol before the war--for example, they had a newspaper called the Schwastika. Obviously, it was promptly dumped when its new Nazi connotations became apparent.

Hitler did horrible, horrible things--but that is not what this post is about. Instead, I would like to examine his techniques (sales and branding techniques, if you will).

This man really had a mind for business--he would have made a great Fuller Brushman seller. *grin* Imagine if you could harness his sales techniques--for good of course!

First--he got nearly an entire nation to rally around him through his propoganda techniques and charismatic personality. And he SOLD them on his ideas.

Next, he made his "sales" by evoking emotion--isn't that what we often strive for in sales?

And branding--the flag and Nazi symbols were so well known now...and even more so now, perhaps.

Now add those all up...what if you could be such a powerful sales person that your business logo was extremely well known and automatically evoked a highly emotional response?

But, if you do not want to do this, or cannot, here is another interesting tidbit...

Solingen, the primary knife/sword/dagger manufacturer in Germany started having a slump in sales, until they decided to jump on the bandwagon.

They went to Hitler (ish...even the word evokes an emotional response in me every time I type it!) and convinced him that army officers needed special daggers--pride symbols, if you will. He agreed, and ordered a bunch. Then there was a flurry of activity after that--the Luftwaffe officers needed special daggers, then the Navy, then civil groups, and even "Hitler Youth" groups. Solingen was back in business!

So Solingen was smart--they knew their potential consumers, and they spotted a trend. They appealed to Hitler's emotions by suggesting special daggers for exclusive groups--with the appropriate Nazi symbols and mottos engraved on the blade. (By the way, these daggers are now among the most expensive ones you will find from the WWII era--so in a way, Hitler is still "selling"--although again, for entirely different reasons).

In summary--find your idea/product, evoke emotion, and turn an entire population onto the idea/product. Get enough people to rally behind you, and others will believe you have the best idea since sliced bread. (Although please make sure it really is a good idea *grin*)

Any thoughts on what else made Hitler such a "great" salesman? (No, I didn't say a great man...!)

Becky




An invitation: drop by and say hello!

Hi Becky!

Wow, what an interesting (yet controversial) topic!

One thing that scares me about Hitler is that he apparently did have some kind of great charisma, despite how evil he was. The scary thing about that is that this kind of thing could happen again.... Remember, Germany was a democracy, and he was first *elected* into office through popular support.

I think his strength of appeal was a kind of ultra-nationalism, he knew the German people were proud of their country and heritage, and he tapped into that feeling, and twisted it for his own ends.

I guess the lesson here is this.... People do have strong emotions about several topics. Some of them are things like patriotism, their love of their family and children, their sense of justice, and so on. Politicians tap into these feelings all the time, of course, with careful campaign strategies designed to appeal to the electorate....

But not only politicians, many advertisements also tap into these genuine feelings most of us share....

Joseph Sugarman says (in his book, "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word") that people buy based on emotion, but justify their purchases with logic. Sugarman is a highly successful direct response marketer. He's probably best known nowadays for "BluBlocker sunglasses," though in the 1970s and early 1980s he was best known for his JS&A catalog.

Anyhow, if his statement is true, then clearly emotion is an important key in inducing people buy purchase something. And these issues -- such as patriotism, family, and even money -- are some of the most emotional issues around!

- Dien Rice

I guess whenever you mention Nazi, Hitler, etc., there is bound to be controversy--which is why wanted to talk about his techniques, rather than the evil man and his evil deeds.

Here's what I was thinking--he can get all of those folks to buy into his ideas--which ARE pure evil! Surely we then can get a great customer base by getting people to buy our products which are "good" and improve people's lives.

Even on a small scale, marketer's use Hitler's techniques. For example: Hitler scared people into following him--if they objected, they stood the chance of being imprisoned or perhaps killed.

Today: scare people by telling them what bad things will happen if they don't do business with you, let them know they will miss out on a deal if they don't act right now, etc.

Anyway, it is interesting to me...and as you said, Dien, scary what a little charisma can do!

Becky

Hi Becky!

> Here's what I was thinking--he can get all
> of those folks to buy into his ideas--which
> ARE pure evil! Surely we then can get a
> great customer base by getting people to buy
> our products which are "good" and
> improve people's lives.

YES, I agree with you, charisma is a powerful thing!

> Today: scare people by telling them what bad
> things will happen if they don't do business
> with you, let them know they will miss out
> on a deal if they don't act right now, etc.

Well, many do this... I remember reading in a few places that according to studies they have done, that often ads which tend to "scare" people motivate more people to act (and order the product) than purely positive advertisements....

Here's a list of what one marketing consultant, Jay Abraham, considers to be the "100 Greatest headlines ever written".... After headline no. 53, he gives an interesting short comment about negative vs. positive headlines. Here it is....

Don't Worry about a "Negative" Approach...This breather No. 4 is about negative headlines. "Accentuate the positive; eliminate the negative," said a song of some years ago. For years that has also been the popular refrain on the advice often given to copywriters. Discussion about negative headlines has sometimes sparked more fire than enlightenment. Yet our 100 headlines then become positive. So the negative approach must have some good reason for existence. It has. What is it? One of the principal objectives of a headline is to strike as directly as possible right at a situation confronting the reader. Sometimes you can do this with greater accuracy if you use a negative headline which pinpoints the ailment rather than the alleviation of it. (For example, Is YOUR Home Picture-Poor? Have YOU a "Worry Stock" --- Little Leaks That Keep Men Poor.) So when you face that kind of situation don't be afraid to "accentuate the negative."

That seems to fit in with what you're saying.... :)

However, which approach works best (positive, negative, or a combination of the two) could depend on what kind of product you are offering....

> Anyway, it is interesting to me...and as you
> said, Dien, scary what a little charisma can
> do!

Yes, Becky, it's amazing to me too!

I think some of the most charismatic people around today are either in politics or in Hollywood....

Within Hollywood, I find people like Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, and Russell Crowe seem to exude charisma!

I think part of charisma is definitely a sense of self-confidence and decisiveness.... Many people lack this, so we flock to people who demonstrate these qualities.... Do you agree?

- Dien

Hi Becky and Dien!

Fascinating topic indeed! And I agree with Becky, simply SEEING the Flag of the Third Reich makes my stomach turn. When Katherine played Gretl in "The Sound of Music" the first time the Flag unfurled behind them during the concert scene I gasped...I am sure the director loved hearing my response....because as you said, Becky, marketers are about creating response.

> Well, many do this... I remember reading in
> a few places that according to studies they
> have done, that often ads which tend to
> "scare" people motivate more
> people to act (and order the product) than
> purely positive advertisements....

***Dien, I am reading a book right now that uses techniques of NLP to determine what will motivate a person to taking action. It is entitled "Words that Change Minds: Mastering the Language of Influence" by Shelle Rose Charvet. She writes that some people have a TOWARD pattern, which means they go TOWARDS achieving goals while others have a predominantly AWAY FROM pattern, who are motivated by by something which should be avoided. (For example, the sales person that says "I need to get sales or else I will not be able to pay my bills."

Charvet states that 40% of North Americans are Mainly Towards, 40% are mainly Away From and 20% are balanced between the two. I found this to be fascinating! Gives me another place to play with my creativity! (I bet you all have ME pegged! 110% Toward!)

> I think some of the most charismatic people
> around today are either in politics or in
> Hollywood....

> Within Hollywood, I find people like Julia
> Roberts, Denzel Washington, and Russell
> Crowe seem to exude charisma!

***BLECH! And charisma can be a turn off....I have chosen to NOT see anything made by Russell Crowe simply because of his off screen activities! On the other hand, I see almost everything Denzel appears in....and most of what Julia Roberts appears in as well. (Like her name!)

With Purpose and Passion,

JULIE JORDAN SCOTT


Dare to Discover Your Passion, Decide to Live Your Destiny!

Dien,

Yes, I agree. Charismatic people are self-confident and decisive...but how about assertive? (See link below for Dien's post about aggression and success...and onto assertiveness)

Charismatic people certainly are successful--like the politicans and hollywood stars you mentioned. And there must be something about them that people trust.

People who are sociopaths, like Ted Bundy, tend to be described as charasmatic. Here again is an example of an evil man, but people (women in particular) trusted him.

Why? I don't know...perhaps for the reasons that you mentioned.

I always tell people to surround themselves with other successful people, since it will make you feel good. I suppose it has something to do with radiating confidence, decisivess, etc. These things are contagious, so we feel better when we are around these people.

*ponder*

As usual, Dien, great insights!

Becky




Dien's great post about aggression and success