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April
30 , 2008
SCHOOL DAZE
Michael D is a Senior Account Manager at First Research,
Inc. His company provides Industry Intelligence in the form of
Industry Profiles designed for busy sales and marketing
professionals. The Industry Profiles include information on
trends, opportunities, and business challenges. His sales
problem was not the service itself, but explaining the service
because there are so many features to it. For example, First
Research also arms customers with call preparation questions,
executive insights, financial benchmark information, etc. The
content is fairly unique but, because of these many features,
sometimes hard for people to grasp initially.
Frustrated (and aware of the power of metaphors and analogies to
make the complex simple and the simple meaningful), he searched
for the best one to solve his problem.
His thinking went something like this: �Ummm, we give lots of
useful information in easy to use condensed form�.where have I
seen that before?...book digests?...yes, but not everyone reads
book digests�.online book summaries?...yes, but again not
everyone reads those��
And then it hit him.
He started telling prospects that the content was just like
having the �Cliff Notes� version of an industry � everything you
need to know about a company in a condensed form. Since nearly
everyone has used Cliff Notes at one time or another or
certainly knows of Cliff Notes, his analogy worked. Now, glazed
looks are gone and Michael always gets an �a-ha� with his
initial description of First Research, which simplifies his
offering in their minds and, most important, shortens the time
to close a sale.
Lesson Learned
When clients repeatedly signal confusion with your product or
service at a certain point in the sales conversation, that is a
red flag to you that you need a metaphor or analogy to explain
that point. Your metaphor or analogy needn�t be difficult. It
just needs to come from a world familiar to your client. With
that confusion gone, the road to closing that sale becomes much
easier to travel.
Until next month, remember to Make What You Say, Pay �
with Metaphors
Anne Miller
For more information on
First Research
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you,
BNET
Delighted that
www.BNET.com, the business
network for managers, featured Metaphorically Selling on
its website last week
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Following the
Election Metaphorically
No one wields metaphors and analogies better than Maureen Dowd
at The New York Times. Because the delegate numbers are against
her, many Democrats want Hillary to step down, but since her win
in Pennsylvania, getting her to do that is difficult. How
difficult? �Certainly,� wrote Dowd, �Howard Dean will be of no
use steering her to the exit. It�s like Micronesia telling
Russia to denuke.� As for Obama, Dowd�s metaphorical arrow hits
its target with equal precision. He has �missed several
opportunities to smash the ball over the net and end the game.
Again and again, he has seemed stuck at deuce. He complains
about the politics of scoring points, but, to win, you�ve got to
score points.�
Presidential Trivia
Stephen Cone, Chief Marketing Officer of Epsilon, a provider
of data driven marketing technologies, analyzed every
presidential election going back to 1840 and discovered that the
presidential candidate with the best slogan won every race. When
neither candidate had a strong slogan, 9 out of 10 times, it was
a close election.
(And I thought elections were supposed to be about issues.)
Want "Metaphorically Selling" tips delivered to your
mobile? Check out
www.salesquenchers.com which offers a unique,
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and mobile, on-demand sales solutions. See the ad at the right
for details.
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WIN A FREE BOOK!
Tell me about YOUR Metaphor Minute, a time you
used a metaphor or an analogy to make your
point, overcome an obstacle, close a sale, or
wow an audience, and receive a signed copy of
Metaphorically Selling. Simply call me at 212
876 1875 and tell me what you did or email me at
amiller@annemiller.com
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On May 30th
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Minute" is a brief monthly note with examples from business,
media, or politics that illustrate the power of metaphors and
analogies to make a point, solve a problem, and get results. Use
these stories to stimulate high pay-off metaphoric thinking in
your business.
�
2007. Anne Miller. -- PERMISSION TO REPRINT -- Feel free to
reprint in company newsletters or articles. Just include
�2007,
Anne Miller, author, "Metaphorically Selling," amiller@annemiller.com
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