Being in business I find that I spend a great deal of time learning about the skills of entrepreneurship. Marketing, sales, operations...you name it, I'm studying it.
One of the recent areas I've been working on is sales. Now sales always regarded with suspicion but ethical selling is simply about informing and assisting potential clients about what you have to offer. However I'm going to open a window on some of the "dark arts" of sales.
The use of pain in sales
If you have ever had the joy of signing up to a gym you'll most likely have experienced the pain method of selling fitness. You get encouraged to talk about how you're getting fatter, less energetic, a whole heap of fun to get you emotional about your fitness state. And it works; press the right buttons, get the emotions going and you get a sale. As long as your product delivers and cures the pain so to speak, both the seller and the client win...however, I'm not really a big fan of this and the main reason is does anyone really like being in pain? Apart from those that attend certain establishments, I think not. And when the pain has gone, what is there keeping your client from leaving? Very little unfortunately, unless you crank up the fear levels again, which is a whole new ethical dilemma that we could look into. Perhaps an alternative is in...
The use of pleasure in sales
We all like to be pleased. Its actually hard wired into our physiology. Dopamine, a hormone that appears to be triggered by unexpected reward (sort of like sex when you're married), provides feelings of enjoyment. As part of a feedback loop we are naturally inclined to keep performing actions that trigger the release of dopamine; we like getting pleasure. The advantages of selling pleasure should be clear. In a fitness context you'd emphasise the benefits of training rather than emphasising the problems you are solving. Talk about the new bikini your client will fit into, for example. Being a feedback loop, consistently rewarding your client with their achievements means they have a much stronger reason to keep hiring you to get that dopamine fix.
It should be clear which side of the fence I sit on in this but as with everything in business, test it for yourself and your prospects.
