
Think Like A MagicianMagic is the art of forming expectations, the science of controlling perceptions, and the craft of branding memories. No matter how good the magician is at what he does - what matters most is what the audience perceives. The same thing happens in business. Whether we are in service or sales, we may believe that we have the best product out there, but unless our audience (the customer) sees it that way, no business is going to be made. |
TrustEveryone trusts a magician, don't they? We certainly wish it were that easy. But every time we meet a crowd, the first thing they exclaim shows exactly how much trust they place in us. "Hey, are you gonna steal my watch or make my wife disappear?" Because of this, magicians have to be masters at creating trust and getting the audience to open up; we have to transform the hardest skeptics into our biggest fans in a matter of minutes. However daunting that may seem, establishing a relationship with a stranger is easier than you think. Sometimes all it takes is a rubber-band and a little bit of tension. ... |
NeedWhile Problems, Needs or Ojectives can all be dealt with, what happens if none of these exist in your customer's mind? Your ultimate goal is to get the customer to perceive that they need your product today. A major part of this is you need to create a $50,000 problem in order to sell a $5,000 solution. The assumptions that we make is that everyone needs our product. And the reality might even be close to that - but how do you get your customers to see it that way? Magicians have a specific technique they use to engage their audiences in the process. ... |
HelpHelp is the information in your presentation that moves your client towards action today. It sounds easy when you think about it, but the concept of HELP is often the hardest to explain. Once you establish where your customer is and find where they want to be, now it's time to discover what's causing the difference. While magicians know thousands of secrets, their power is in their ability to use the right one at the right time. Salespeople know thousands of things about their product, but knowing which information to communicate is key in helping the customer. ... |
UrgencyUrgency is really a perception issue. Whether real or imagined the client perceives that they must act today or lose out. All salespeople have the urge to sell, but few customers have the urge to buy. The urge to purchase today is created within the customer's mind -- a salesperson can only help to bring it out. Understanding that urgency is created by the customer is the first step. The second step is realizing that urgency has to be created from the very beginning. Magicians are masters at building tension from the very start of their show so that the audience is at the edge of their seats, dying to see the ending. So at which point in your sale do you start asking buying questions? ... |
The WOW ExperienceThis is the magician's greatest secret: create an unforgettable experience that will lead to unbeatable word-of-mouth advertising. How do you know you've amazed your customers? It's when they walk out feeling happy that they bought, instead of feeling they were sold. Once you learn to incorporate magical thinking into your interactions with your customers, you'll have them astonished, wondering: "how did they make that so effortless for me?!?" and exclaiming the words that every magician and every business wants to hear: "Hey...do that again!" ... |