Sales, branding, and a lesson from history

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