Jim Fortin, Founder, Mind Authority

So for the next hour I contemplated whether Jim’s talk on persuasive selling could persuade me not to drive while drinking coffee, typing on my laptop, and listening to my ipod in a middle of a traffic meltdown.  I thought about trying to change shirts also so I would have a pressed one on when I arrived, but I decided it would be unsafe.  So poor Jim had to present the whole morning looking at a guy with a wrinkled shirt.

For those of you unfamiliar with Jim, he’s a professional sales & leadership coach who teaches the art of NeuroPersuasion (insert registered trademark symbol here).  In one line, NeuroPersuasion is the art of skillfully appealing to the imagination in a way that inpsires an individual to make favorable decisions.  In two lines, it’s a way to “bypass the conscious mind and engage the unpconscious part of the mind that makes all the decisions and determines whether people buy, hire, or follow — or not.” (taken from Jim Fortin’s website www.mindauthority.com).  In other words, since most people buy on emotion, NeuroPersuasion teaches how to best invoke an emotional response that will lead to a purchase.  I’m going to be disecting this concept over the next few weeks.

In the cut-throat industry that is window coverings, every sale counts.  The question of how to improve lead conversion is forefront in the minds of many shutter and blind retailers across the country.  Current economic conditions have motivated consumers to padlock their wallets – and when they do choose to purchase, they are more likely to shop around for “best price.”  Many Sewell Shutters dealers are today are facing the price wall. We hear it all the time: “We were underbid.”  “Customers want a less expensive product.”  “You’re product is just too expensive.”

During these next few posts, I’ll unpack NeuroPersuasion, and how it should be applied in multiple areas of building a successful window treatments operation – sales, leadership, customer service, etc.  Obviously, I am not an expert in this area and to learn these techniques quickly and easily you should consider attending Jim’s next event.

A NOTE: NeuroPersuasion is a set of TOOLS that have proper uses.  Like all tools, they can be applied incorrectly to the harm of others.  Whether you are capable of responsibly using these tools is a decision you must make yourself. Remember, people are eternal, and our interactions with them have an everlasting impact.

Let’s get started.

The foundation of NeuroPersuasion is the art of listening to the music, not just the lyrics (taken from Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles customer service masterpiece Raving Fans).  Let’s pick up the Raving Fans story at the point where the student (the Area Manager) is learning from an advisor (Bill).

“So what’s your secret of success?” asked the Area Manager.

“It’s a matter of training your ear,” answered Bill.  “First, you have to listen to the music as well as the lyrics. Often what people really want doesn’t show up directly in what they say.  Thay may even say one thing and mean quite another.”

“Like what?” asked the Area Manager.

“Like the purchasing agent who tells you the only thing they look at is price and so you had best sharpen your pencil, but actually the real priorities are quality and on-time delivery.  Like the owner of the computer company who says he wants a case with a unique look, but what he really wants is something as close as he can get to the encasement of the best-selling computer — without being taken to court.  That’s what I mean by listening to the music as well as to the lyrics.”

NeuroPersuasion starts with an understanding that people may not always tell you what they truly want.  What’s more, people may not even realize what they truly want (or need).  There’s an old civil war poem that demonstrates God’s grace despite our own personal confusion.

I asked God for strength,
that I might achieve;

I was made weak,
that I might humbly learn to obey.

I asked for health,
that I might do greater things;

I was given infirmity,
that I might do better things.

I asked for riches,
that I might be happy;

I was given poverty,
that I might be wise.

I asked for power,
that I might have the praise of men;

I was given weakness,
that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things,
that I might enjoy life;

I was given life,
that I might enjoy all things.

I received nothing that I asked for –
but everything that I had hoped for;

Almost despite myself,
my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

NeuroPersuasion recognizes that people themselves may have deceived themselves into believing they want one thing, when they truly hope for another.  This is the first lesson of NeuroPersuasion and Raving Fans: LISTEN TO THE MUSIC, NOT JUST THE LYRICS.  Determine what the customer truly wants, and then you will be in a better position to present a solution that best fits their situation.

The problem with being deceived is that you don’t know you are deceived. (You laugh, but a pastor friend of mine told me a lady asked him one day if it was possible to be deceived and not know it).  If people really think that price is the most important thing to them, it’s going to be very difficult to convince them otherwise because their conscious mind is convinced of it. NeuroPersuasion says it’s necessary to bypass that conscious part to appeal to the subconscious (where what people truly want resides) to help them make a decision that they will end up being happy with long term.  The biggest marketing challenge is whether we design and sell products and services that appeal to what people think they want / need OR if we design for what they DO really want /need.  If we do the latter, we will have a more difficult time convinciple skepticle prospects to purchase what we offer – even though we know it’s what they ultimately want.  It is here that NeuroPersuasion begins to help.

Ask yourself this week: do I really know what I want?  What do I truly value?  What has pop culture trained me to think I want or value?  Then ask the question: “What do my customers really want?  Am I serving what they DO want, or just what pop culture has trained them to THINK they want?”

This is the start.  Join the journey of discovery and let’s see if NeuroPersuasion can really help us sell plantation shutters!

The Sun is Rising.

“People don’t really know why they buy what they do, which is why traditional selling often falls short.  Actually, people will tell you why they think they buy, hire or follow, but are almost always wrong.  the analytical conscious mind has to rationalize actions, and it assigns reasons to actions through a myriad of mind filters.” ~ from NeuroPersuasion: 10 Tips to Unlock the Brain and Move People to Action! (available for download here)