Weapons of Influence. A discussion.

[GordonJ]

First my PERSONAL boycott list:

SEARS. For a bait and switch they pulled and for one nasty ass salesman. Been 20 years.

PAPA JOHN'S PIZZA. About 12 years. Age discrimination in hiring.

Well, actually, the list is about a mile long...and it is personal...not asking anyone to join in...

In his book INFLUENCE, Cialdini talks about the Click-Whirr response...that is a response that is natural and is done without CONSCIOUS THOUGHT.

One of the great secrets/tricks/methods of marketers and magicians is

the MIS DIRECTION. Look here, while I pick your pocket there.

Today, they teach NLP copywriting, and what old world salesmanship did was the exact same thing...

to get the conscious THINKING mind out of the way so the emotional, ClickWhirr, I want it now...response can take place.

Get the conscious mind OCCUPIED. Then insert/install/implant your suggestion.

Some marketers teach a TRANCE state, to HYPNOTIZE people.

In my work, Remote Influence, I describe the PREOCCUPATIONAL states of mind which a marketer must know about...if he wants to break their preoccupation and enter their mind.

I'm having some second thoughts about teaching some of this stuff...which is why I've limited the availability of Animal Hypnotic Fascination...it is just too powerful for the average person to use...

and I question marketing motives.

I recall an old Zig Ziglar story where he goes into a very poor woman's home and knows he is wasting time but feels obligated to keep his appointment...he gives a half hearted sales pitch (silverware?? if I recall correctly)...but she wants to see the China.

Ol Zig, goes to the car, KNOWS she can't afford it...knows he is wasting time when he could be really SELLING this ****...but takes it in

and SHE WANTS IT.

She is willing to forego food, she has to have this for her legacy...for her children and grandchildren...she's never had anything this nice...so good ol boy Zig puts her on a contract for paying forever from her small income...what a great guy Zig is, right?

Well, that may not be the exact story but Zig and every other Sales Master has stories about selling people stuff they WANT but really can't afford...but who are they to make judgements on people?

Really?

And there is a common thread (and this is becoming a common thought in all my posts)...woven throughout sales and marketing...

sell the people what they want...

not what they need...

and that is the fastest way to making a buck you will ever find...

And they want: to escape (beer, alcohol, drugs, TV, movies, games, gambling) from their daily mundane life to a greener pasture.

HEY, I've long been an advocate of NOT be prejudiced against what other people spend their money on...

but, I see so much manipulation and covert persuasion and ENTERING into the buyer's mind and creating a Click-Whirr reaction...

that it is cause for concern.

Is the next generation doomed to be duped by our advanced marketing knowledge? Or will they hail us as great salespeople and THANK us for selling them stuff we knew was bad for their health (like PIZZA)...bad for their wealth...and bad for their spirit too.

OR do we care? Sell baby sell.

It was ONCE my mantra. Now I must examine what I am selling and why.

The best answer for me, right now, is sell products which are both wanted and needed and that do no harm.

That was always the best answer...but, am I being prejudiced against what people really WANT?

THOUGHTS?

Gordon