By Brian Li,
Head of the UK's Business Growth Centre
Psychology and Science are formidable
and innovative forces
taking the business world by storm. And
you can benefit
enormously from these forgotten secrets, once the preserve
of a powerful elite.
The psychology of negotiation
Potential clients are crying out for the one thing so many
businesses fail to provide: They want to be understood!
When you approach prospects, ask them: "Do you have
any situations in your company that our combined
expertise can solve?".
Psychologically, by substituting the word "situations"
for problems, you are more likely to get a positive response.
Also, by using the term "combined or mutual expertise"
you are telling them you respect their valuable knowledge.
Remember Stephen Covey's advice from his groundbreaking
book: "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People" - Seek first
to understand, then to be understood.
So tell your clients you want to really understand their needs
above everything else, and you'll be so far ahead of your
competition, they'll be left scrambling in the dust.
A long forgotten response secret
Philippa Davies, psychologist and expert in communication
skills to heads of state and business leaders, says:
"People respond more to what they are going to lose than to
what they are going to gain."
She adds: "It's very powerful when you explain to prospects
they will probably lose market share to their main
competitors if they don't adopt your ideas." Ask yourself:
What will my customers stand to lose if they do not buy
my service or product?
Powerful scientific discovery
Science discovered the human brain finds lists of features boring -
we switch off. So be creative and turn your service or product into
a picture! This secret technique is used in memory retention
strategies.
For example, do you sell hotel rooms at $100 a night?, or do you
sell Romantic Vacations with 4-Poster Beds and Champagne
on Ice! Never sell a generic product or service. Create your own
appealing picture, sit back, and watch your sales soar.
Pretty picture
Did you know you'll increase your sales by using appealing
photographs of typical users on your packaging?
Why is this? Well, it humanizes your product or service
and prospects perceive you to be more professional
and trustworthy.
You can also take advantage of this powerful tip for your
promotional brochures and website. For one-person
home-based businesses, always include your photo
on your letterhead and other sales literature.
Priceless pricing secrets
Let's take a closer look at pricing for success. Psychologists
tell us that prices ending in "7" sell more than prices ending
in "9", for example, $1.97 will probably be more powerful
than $1.99. Do you use this technique? Test it and see.
Do be aware that if you sell a prestigious product or service,
this will "cheapen" its image, so avoid this strategy for
expensive products.
You can also lower your price if customers buy larger
quantities. For instance, $40 for one or $97 for 3.
Yet another powerful psychological pricing strategy
is using a technique that appears to lower the value
of your product.
For example, if you charge $500 per year for your service,
you can offer this for "less than $10 per week". It's the same
price eventually; however, can you see why this is more
appealing? $10 will attract more immediate attention than a
whopping $500.
21st century impostors
Evolutionary Psychology tells us our hunter-gatherer instincts make
us take risks only when we encounter danger. Interestingly, the
maximum size of these hunger-gatherer groups was a maximum of
150 people. Therefore, larger businesses need to break down their
workforce into smaller groups of people.
To quote Richard Koch, we are 21st century impostors driven by
Neolithic genes. Business units of less than 50 people have proved
to be very effective.
People are also charmed by status and responsibility. So create
special positions for your staff, for example, Leader of Team A,
and acknowledge special achievements with regular awards.
And don't forget to address that risk aversion factor in us all.
Make sure you have the best guarantees of satisfaction around.
When you take away the risk of buying your product or service,
you'll encourage more people to become your customers.
Soviet research
Wallace D. Wattles, in his 1910 classic text, "The Science of
Getting Rich" also emphasises the point of becoming rich
by being creative and not competitive. This is supported by
business guru, Richard Koch, who quotes Soviet Scientist,
G F Gause and his interesting experiments on small organisms.
The results show the business world that it cannot expect to prosper
if it competes in the same market place as a competitor.
If your competitor can invade you, and you can't reciprocate,
then you are in deep trouble. Therefore, don't start a business
where you can't enter some of your competitor's markets but it
can enter all of yours.
The big secret for any small business is to specialize in an area
where you are substantially different from your rivals and put all
your energy and resources into those areas.
The greatest secret finally revealed
It doesn't matter if you have a world-beating product or service
and innovative marketing, if you don't carry out the following
four procedures every day, you're guaranteed to become
just another business failure.
Wallace D. Wattles, in his 1910 classic text, "The Science of
Getting Rich", and Robert Collier, in his amazing book,
"Secret of the Ages, give away the following secrets:
(1) Form a precise image in your mind of what you want to achieve.
(2) Then comes the big secret: Believe, really believe, that you'll
reap the rewards you are asking for.
(3) Practice gratitude daily for all the great new ideas and
successes
that are coming your way.
(4) Finally, set about putting into place the vehicle to achieve what
you are thinking about. If this is your business, then do all you can
each day, effectively, so you are putting yourself in a position to
receive what you are asking.
And that's it! You really do become what you think about!
A future of growth
When you start to apply these groundbreaking principles in your
business, you'll experience unprecedented levels of growth.
So get started right now, and look forward to a rosy future.
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