Every person on Earth — almost 7 billion of us — sells something every day. It may be a product, service, or a point-of-view. Everyone sells, even you. The problem is most people don’t know how to sell.
We can help. As theideamechanic I help you understand Convince Me!, a simple, easy way to sell. And if you do need help, the Idea Mechanics have a craftsmen’s toolbox full of convincing products, services, and skills.
Think the display slider on our home page is a bit pretentious? We don’t.
EVERY seller needs five tools in their sales toolbox: a strategy, stories, proof, experiences, and a guarantee. We think we’re pretty good at using those five tools, but these World Class institutions set the gold standard. Here’s why:
Have you ever watched a basketball game? Attention to detail and striving to make each play “just a little bit better than the last one” can win games. But winning is also about strategy: having a game plan, coaching, and planning for contingencies.
Duke University’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski is a strategist. He knows his fans, his competition, his limitations, and he knows his players. When you watch him and his team on the floor, you DON’T see the all the preparation and planning he and his staff have put in. But you DO see the results.
We think having a plan is really important. Read why.
Muriel Rukeyser had a saying “The universe is made of stories, not atoms.” National Public Radio is the icon of independent news reporting and human interest storytelling. There is not one facet of human drama that they have not explored.
NPR uses a great catch phrase: “Driveway Moment“; a story so good you can’t turn it off. NPR doesn’t use video to tell a story, they use visual audio (and a few photos). They make you think and listen your way through a story.
We like stories. We love stories. Buyers love to hear (true) stories. How can you tell your story? Read this.
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are MythBusters. In their TV series, these two special effects artists and their crew apply scientific reasoning to create demonstrations that render a myth either busted, plausible, or confirmed.
If I said “I have a machine that can find a needle in a haystack – always!”, the MythBusters could create a visually appealing, scientifically based demonstration to prove me wrong or prove me right. A demonstration of proof does not need to be expensive. As they’ve shown, the best demonstrations are frugal, creative, and based on the scientific method.
Words can only take a story so far. At some point people want to know what they heard is true. They want proof. Read more.
The most magical place on earth. Why? Because Disney understands the power of human emotion. The Disney team and Imagineers are master craftsmen at creating moments in time that become long lasting, memorable experiences.
The magic started with Walt and continues through today. In his book Designing Disney, author John Hench reveals how for 60 years as a Disney Imagineer he has used story, character, and color as key elements to deliver what Disney calls The Art of the Show.
We think stories are key, and demonstrations can make them real, but a great experience can make a buyer go “WOW!” Read why.
Cisco has a reputation for FANATICAL customer satisfaction. (Yes, Cisco does have a new logo.) From CEO John Chambers to every direct contributor on the team, everyone is held accountable to meeting and exceeding measured customer sat. goals.
“Do the right thing” drove Cisco. If a large Enterprise customer had a network outage and went Critical Account status, Chambers was briefed daily until they were back up. If a small Cisco customer had a broken router, a new one was shipped with no questions. Every customer was asked “How are we doing? What can we do better?” Cisco asked, listened, acted, and improved.
We think customer support is an art. Do you practice it everyday? Do you have a guarantee? How do you completely satisfy your clients?
. . . . .
We think those are five tools (strategy, stories, proof, experiences, and satisfaction) and five heros that can benefit everyone who has a product, service, or point-of-view to sell.
If you’d like to learn how you can use these five tools YOURSELF, read our yellow brick road series of posts. If you’d like to KEEP LEARNING more, follow theideamechanic.
And if you need help — contact us: we help people sell.
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