Good Business Juju
Posted on Wed, Sep 02, 2009
Another great post by
Nathalie Molina...
I grew up with a piano. And, truth be told, I've lately been having a rather wild streak of what I've decided can only be called "good Juju." So here's what I figure...if I want the streak to continue, I should do what I can to keep the momentum going. Makes sense, right (humor my superstitions, please)? To that end, I decided that while it is completely unnecessary and possibly even impractical, I would listen to the little voice in my head that has recently been asking me "wouldn't it be wonderful to have a piano in your home again?"
Key take away: Emotions sell products.
As my team would attest, I am the epitome of an analytical, extremely fact-driven thinker. If you're trying to convince me to approve an investment, don't simply tell me that it's going to help us "win the hearts and minds of our customers" (an admittedly, very honorable endeavor), instead give me the measurable data that shows what will happen to the bottom line or the customer satisfaction ratings, present the risks in terms of a quantifiable margin of errors and by all means, show me the P&L!
And yet, I'm considering buying/renting a Piano during a recession because of a streak of good Juju!
That's right. Emotions sell.
Before you even have a chance to start pitching, somewhere in the mind of your customer is an emotion, just waiting for you to tap into and assuage. Do your research, understand the larger context, the deep history of the problem you're trying to solve. Moreover, if you're managing a strategic sales initiative of any scale, get to know the personalities, understand their priorities, their goals and ideally, what keeps them up at night.
You will be brilliantly surprised to find how much good business Juju is waiting for you if you hit the mark and understand the underlying "why" behind what your customers are telling you!