HOW TO BUILD YOUR CAUSE TO ACT STORY

Transcription

1 HOW TO BUILD YOUR CAUSE TO ACT STORY

2 58% of buying cycles end in no decision (SBI). That means your buyer is more than twice as likely to stick with their current provider than to change the way they do things.

3 Three Little Pigs Jack and the Beanstalk Hansel and Gretel Why is it that we can remember and re-tell these stories with such enthusiasm, all the way into adulthood? scary exciting sad curious safe highs and lows fun delightful And why is it that when people hear these stories, they listen so intently? These words all have something in common: they re all used to describe emotions. You re about to find out.

4 There are special ingredients in all fairytales that attract us to these stories and help us retell them to others. If you ask a child, or even an adult, why they remember the stories from their childhood, they will use language like scary, safe, exciting, sad, fun and curious. Emotional stories stay with us. Think of the stories, the sales pitches or even the conversations your sellers are having. What words spring to mind?

5 Your buyer can solve their problems in many ways, including not buying anything. The difference between going with you or not can be down to very small things, like what you say when you meet them, and how you say it. It turns out that buyers make their decision first based on how they feel, and then justify that decision by looking for facts to support it. In his book The Chimp Paradox, psychologist Stephen Peters proposes a brilliant mind model. It s brilliant because it makes the workings of our complex brains easy to understand. Slingshot Edge uses this model to help build stories. All of us you, me, your buyer and everyone else have emotional (chimp) and rational (human) parts of our minds that are often battling each other. Your chimp s primary focus is your survival. It judges very quickly, thinks in black and white, is very sensitive and is five times more powerful than your human brain. It s not just a chimp: it s an amplifying chimp, and you can use its power to your advantage.

6 Most sales communications send the chimp to sleep. You need to poke the chimp by tapping into what it cares about itself. Not your solutions its own survival. Then it will really start paying attention! What are the things that make us love and remember those stories from our childhoods? Simple visuals. These stories have simple but striking images. Think about the Big Bad Wolf: ears, eyes, fur, teeth! Scary! In contrast, we feel better at the end of the story when the wolf has been brutally dealt with. We imagine ourselves inside the story. Highs, lows and triumphant endings. This is the most crucial element. It s what people mean when they talk about capturing the imagination. You do want to capture your buyer s imagination, don t you? Then read on...

7 Why do 58 % of buying cycles end in No Decision? Your buyer s chimp is the reason. It s working against you instead of for you. This is what most sellers do right now:

8 If you want your buyer to take action, you need to get their chimp to take action. You do this by offering valuable insight, through a visual story showing that your buyer s current position is not safe. Their chimp now thinks taking no action is too risky. Their human concurs. An internal, emotional decision to take action occurs.

9 How Insight Works It s probably safe to assume your sellers know how to communicate your value and benefits. But most sellers are missing what they desperately need to stimulate action in their buyers: a Cause to Act story. This insight makes the buyer realize that their current approach to a problem (a problem that you can solve in a better way) is no longer safe, because something has changed in their world. It could be new laws, new competition, new behaviors, new threats anything new that you can align with your buyer s current way of operating. When your buyer realizes that they are standing on a sinkhole, their chimp wakes up and decides they need to take action. Then, and only then, are they ready to find out about your benefits in your second story. Remember: insight is a gift. Be brave. Try it. Your buyer will appreciate your research, your analysis and your opinion.

10 How to build your Cause to Act Story Identify who your buyer is and the problems they have Insight Contrast Look for insight that shows the world has changed. This insight will grab your buyer s attention because it s unexpected. the old way with a better one. Don t mention your product yet: show what your buyer needs to do differently. Your buyer s rational mind will want to find out more because your new approach is the logical solution with their new insight. Research how your buyer addresses these problems right now. Your buyer will see themselves in this story because you re describing their world. 4 5 Revisit how your buyer operates now. Describe the issues associated with the old way in this new environment, highlighting to your buyer the problems he will have if he continues to use the old way in new market conditions. Your message will be amplified by your buyer s chimp wanting to avoid the risks you are uncovering.

11 Great sellers are great researchers. It s all out there waiting to be found. So get going! info@slingshotedge.com (+44)

12 2016