Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Mike Halliday on September 16, 2008, 07:47:33 pm
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Radio 4 this afternoon 'word Of Mouth' show.
a great article on Sales technique from a Kirby Rep, worth listening too
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/wordofmouth.shtml
click on 'listen to the latest edition'
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Food for thought that, taken a few notes ;)
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What made me chuckle is that Dr Cialdini has basically taken his old book and repackaged it for Sales people, with a far better title. It was originally aimed at Buyers to counter basic sales tactics.
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what i found interesting is how people respond more to sales technique aimed at loss rather than gain, meaning people fear loss more than they want gain. So maybe our marketing should aim at what the customer will lose by not having thier carpets cleaned rather than what they will gain.
If I'm honest I bet less than 5-6 people have actually listened to this interview, and those 5-6 will be the ones that don't actually need to listen to it, the people who really need this information probably couldn't be arsed to listen ;)
its a bit like alltec open day, the same faces will be there, the ones who should be there will not want to spend the petrol money to get there (after all it's probably a days earnings :D )
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It's a brilliant book and (because it deals with human nature) will be just as relevant in decades to come.
I had first hand experience of his Arizona Indian jewellery story a few years ago.
I worked in a windsurfing / ski shop. We had one line of ski jackets that were not selling. "For a laugh", the boss doubled the price. Within a week they had all sold!
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For those who couldn't be bothered to listen, here are the basic six points he makes about how to influence people. You'll need to work out your own method of transferring this to carpet cleaning.
Six “Weapons of Influence"
Cialdini defines six “weapons of influence”:
* Reciprocation - People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1937.
* Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy. See cognitive dissonance.
* Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.
* Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.
* Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. See physical attractiveness stereotype.
* Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.
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Aha, Roger you've usurped the hurried notes i typed whilst listening, thanks :)
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My pleasure.
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That was good for face to face or over the phone now i need to think about how to put it on the net???
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Reciprocation - Give them something FREE through your website, like a money off voucher or even better combine that into a data capture system to get them to sign up to an email for tips and tricks about carpet & upholstery care
Commitment and Consistency - Bit difficult on a website but you can still pose questions to the reader. Maybe it would work to adopt a kind of Socratic method, clicking through a few pages? Might be a bit too much like hard work for the average casual visitor though.
Social proof - TESTIMONIALS!!
Authority - simply the language that your site is written with can convey authority. The written word probably even has the advantage over the spoken word, as it is fine-tuned and thought about before the person reads it
Liking - again, difficult on a website but if you are a sole trader and focus on the personal touch, an "about me" page with your smiley picture and some personal info would help people begin to like you, surely.
Scarcity - time limited offer, or even a flash banner stating "only 3 appointments left this month , hurry!"
Just a few quick ideas off the top of my head ;)
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as they say mike
there are 7 methods of motivation but 'Fear of Loss' is probably the most powerful
Hope you're well
Dave Atkins