Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or
believes."
- Emily Dickinson
Marketing and the 10 Characteristics of Human Behavior
By Jay Abraham
The more you study the communication process, the more you realize
that successful marketing com¬munications ... be they ads, sales
letters, brochures, or proposals ... tap into key characteristics of
hu¬man behavior.
The more you are aware of the following basic traits, the more
powerful and effective your sales efforts will be:
1. People follow leaders that have their confidence.
In a business sense, people will support companies that they
consider to be leaders. The interesting thing is that these images
may be real, or simply well-constructed perceptions. What this means
to you is this: If your company excels in something, make certain
you communicate that excellence effectively and often to har¬ness
your leadership status.
2. People seek unity by group action.
This is the "bandwagon" phenomenon that you can take advantage of in
your business by making good use of the testimonials you receive.
Use this marketing tool in your communications to boost the advocacy
(see Word to the Wise, below) of your cause.
3. People react best under pressure of deadlines.
Maybe one in 10 sales letters, maybe one in 50 ads make use of this
fact. Yet genuine deadlines with genuine reasons for them
dramati¬cally increases your response rate.
4. People easily lose their sense of identity.
Mobility separates people from past interests and exposes them to
new ones. And this is a great opportunity for you! If you are the
only company that writes to them, even simply to say that you
appreciate them, you'll gain immense loyalty. Interestingly, clients
of ours (in retail, business-to-business, and professional
practices) who've tapped this powerful idea typically report that
they are disappointed by the fact that they get virtually no
reaction to their letters ... at first. But that the sales that
follow prove the long-term power of this loyalty-building program.
5. People give incomplete attention.
We all do it. We are so focused on what we're about that we are
guilty of thinking everyone else should be too. Not only focused on
us, but excited about what we've got. The fact is, they're
distracted by their own lives. They don't give a damn about us until
we put our offer in terms of what it'll do for them.
W-I-I-F-M! What's-in¬ it-for-me. You literally have to break into
their awareness and work hard at holding it. Then, follow the old
preacher's advice: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell it
to 'em, and tell 'em what you just told 'em."
6. People glance instead of read.
Many people are poor readers. Or lazy readers. So make your sales
message short and sweet. That doesn't mean short copy is better than
long. It means don't write a word more (or less) than you have to in
order to achieve your objective.
If you're "selling off the page," that will require a fuller and
longer argument than if you're merely selling the idea of putting a
coupon in the mail. Compelling headlines, powerful opening
paragraphs, short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs are
the key to getting people to glance - and then to get interested
enough to keep reading.
7. People are suspect of perfection.
In a nutshell, tell your prospects about your "warts" as well as all
the good things about you. That honest and open approach will win
you many friends and many more sales.
8. People identify with generalizations.
Most people are begging to be led. What's more, they'll identify
with parables, testimonials, examples, and case histories. I don't
mean this to sound ma¬nipulative ... simply to point out an
effective key in the art of persuasion.
One of the most famous sales letters of all time began this way:
"An ancient Persian Poet said, 'If thou hast two pennies, spend one
for bread. With the other, buy hyacinths for thy soul.'"
Attached to the top of the letter was a one-cent coin. You may know
the letter. It sold Reader's Digest subscriptions ... and did it so
successfully that literally hundreds of millions of "pennies" have
been mailed worldwide over the years with that theme.
9. People go for "grooves" and easy formulas.
Think about it. Ever since The Ten Command¬ments, we've been given
the easy way to do things with formulas: the five-point plan ...
three easy steps ... 4 important reasons.
Years ago, I worked at a delicatessen. We had a vast selection of
fine foods. People would phone up and ask if we did picnic
baskets. "No," we'd say, "but we have salads, meats, pates,
desserts ..." We'd list a host of mouth-water¬ing things. What would
the caller say? "Thanks, I'll call you back." And, of course, they
didn't.
Finally, we figured out that people don't want to make the
decisions, they want the decisions made for them. And they want a
surprise element too. So thereafter, when someone would phone to ask
if we had picnic baskets, we'd say, "Yes, and they're $30 for two
people (or whatever)." Inevitably, the caller would respond, "Fine,
I'll be in tomorrow morning to get one." By picking up on that
simple concept, we dramatically increased our profits.
10. Most people like the feeling of power.
People resist making the decision to buy, because it would end the
pleasant courtship they're enjoying throughout your sales pitch. The
key to overcoming that resistance is to stress the attention that
will come to them after they make the purchase.
believes."
- Emily Dickinson
Marketing and the 10 Characteristics of Human Behavior
By Jay Abraham
The more you study the communication process, the more you realize
that successful marketing com¬munications ... be they ads, sales
letters, brochures, or proposals ... tap into key characteristics of
hu¬man behavior.
The more you are aware of the following basic traits, the more
powerful and effective your sales efforts will be:
1. People follow leaders that have their confidence.
In a business sense, people will support companies that they
consider to be leaders. The interesting thing is that these images
may be real, or simply well-constructed perceptions. What this means
to you is this: If your company excels in something, make certain
you communicate that excellence effectively and often to har¬ness
your leadership status.
2. People seek unity by group action.
This is the "bandwagon" phenomenon that you can take advantage of in
your business by making good use of the testimonials you receive.
Use this marketing tool in your communications to boost the advocacy
(see Word to the Wise, below) of your cause.
3. People react best under pressure of deadlines.
Maybe one in 10 sales letters, maybe one in 50 ads make use of this
fact. Yet genuine deadlines with genuine reasons for them
dramati¬cally increases your response rate.
4. People easily lose their sense of identity.
Mobility separates people from past interests and exposes them to
new ones. And this is a great opportunity for you! If you are the
only company that writes to them, even simply to say that you
appreciate them, you'll gain immense loyalty. Interestingly, clients
of ours (in retail, business-to-business, and professional
practices) who've tapped this powerful idea typically report that
they are disappointed by the fact that they get virtually no
reaction to their letters ... at first. But that the sales that
follow prove the long-term power of this loyalty-building program.
5. People give incomplete attention.
We all do it. We are so focused on what we're about that we are
guilty of thinking everyone else should be too. Not only focused on
us, but excited about what we've got. The fact is, they're
distracted by their own lives. They don't give a damn about us until
we put our offer in terms of what it'll do for them.
W-I-I-F-M! What's-in¬ it-for-me. You literally have to break into
their awareness and work hard at holding it. Then, follow the old
preacher's advice: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell it
to 'em, and tell 'em what you just told 'em."
6. People glance instead of read.
Many people are poor readers. Or lazy readers. So make your sales
message short and sweet. That doesn't mean short copy is better than
long. It means don't write a word more (or less) than you have to in
order to achieve your objective.
If you're "selling off the page," that will require a fuller and
longer argument than if you're merely selling the idea of putting a
coupon in the mail. Compelling headlines, powerful opening
paragraphs, short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs are
the key to getting people to glance - and then to get interested
enough to keep reading.
7. People are suspect of perfection.
In a nutshell, tell your prospects about your "warts" as well as all
the good things about you. That honest and open approach will win
you many friends and many more sales.
8. People identify with generalizations.
Most people are begging to be led. What's more, they'll identify
with parables, testimonials, examples, and case histories. I don't
mean this to sound ma¬nipulative ... simply to point out an
effective key in the art of persuasion.
One of the most famous sales letters of all time began this way:
"An ancient Persian Poet said, 'If thou hast two pennies, spend one
for bread. With the other, buy hyacinths for thy soul.'"
Attached to the top of the letter was a one-cent coin. You may know
the letter. It sold Reader's Digest subscriptions ... and did it so
successfully that literally hundreds of millions of "pennies" have
been mailed worldwide over the years with that theme.
9. People go for "grooves" and easy formulas.
Think about it. Ever since The Ten Command¬ments, we've been given
the easy way to do things with formulas: the five-point plan ...
three easy steps ... 4 important reasons.
Years ago, I worked at a delicatessen. We had a vast selection of
fine foods. People would phone up and ask if we did picnic
baskets. "No," we'd say, "but we have salads, meats, pates,
desserts ..." We'd list a host of mouth-water¬ing things. What would
the caller say? "Thanks, I'll call you back." And, of course, they
didn't.
Finally, we figured out that people don't want to make the
decisions, they want the decisions made for them. And they want a
surprise element too. So thereafter, when someone would phone to ask
if we had picnic baskets, we'd say, "Yes, and they're $30 for two
people (or whatever)." Inevitably, the caller would respond, "Fine,
I'll be in tomorrow morning to get one." By picking up on that
simple concept, we dramatically increased our profits.
10. Most people like the feeling of power.
People resist making the decision to buy, because it would end the
pleasant courtship they're enjoying throughout your sales pitch. The
key to overcoming that resistance is to stress the attention that
will come to them after they make the purchase.