Radio Sales Café

by Paul Weyland, reprinted with permission of RBR.com

From his new book for local business owners, Think like an Adman and Sell like a Madman:

People usually don’t buy logically, they buy emotionally. But we still need to back up our emotional purchases with, as I call it, good, old-fashioned “pretzel logic. I also refer to this back-up logic as “talking points”. Perhaps you’ve heard about talking points in the news, as a pundit refers to Republican or Democratic “spins” or “talking points” on particular issues. Talking points are generally used in public relations or political campaigns to succinctly focus people on arguments favoring or opposing a particular political position.

For example, let’s say a lobbying group opposes increased regulation of smokestack emissions for power plants and they would like to get more public buy-in for their cause. Here are some talking points that they might want to widely circulate for public debate.

• The science behind “global warming” is not conclusive.
• Increased regulations on smokestack emissions will kill U.S. jobs.
• Coal is from right here in America, not shipped over from the Middle East.
• Increased regulations will drive up energy costs for average Americans.
• The coal industry does a good enough job regulating itself.

It’s certainly not by accident that we see and hear these “spins” on the news, in talk shows, on the floor of Congress, in political speeches, in discussions with relatives, friends and neighbors, around the water cooler and in advertising. The coal industry is intentionally trying to frame, control and color any dialog regarding the need for any more government regulation.

If talking points are mentioned enough times, people start believing and reciting them. Public relations firms spread their talking points to the media. Talk show hosts pick up on them.  People regurgitate them in the break room at work or at a family get together. Soon, every time the subject comes up, so do the talking points.

Lobbyists, associations and politicians aren’t the only people interested in using talking points to influence decision makers. Savvy business owners also understand the importance of doing their best to control the public dialog in their product/service categories. Just look at the massive damage control campaign B.P. launched after the big Gulf oil spill. Or, look at how the nation’s big banks are trying to control spin on tighter financial regulation, even as the nation slowly recovers from the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression. Speaking of meltdowns, The U.S. nuclear industry is desperately trying to control spin, even as the Japanese are struggling to avoid a reactor catastrophe.

A good Adman knows he can use talking points to frame the dialog as well, on why people should be buying from his client, rather than from his client’s competitor. A talking point or two helps an individual justify his position on buying.  “Well, this one is safer than our old one,” we might rationalize. Or, “This one will save us money on our electric bill,” or, “I like this…and it’s green! As I drive, I’m saving the planet.”  We want to buy, the urge, the desire is there, but we still need the talking points, or what I call “pretzel logic” to convince ourselves, or another decision maker (spouse? business partner? Board?), that our decision to buy is okay.

Talking points are critical elements in whether or not people will buy, and if so, from whom. Educated people buy more than uneducated people.  Businesses have a decision to make, either taking responsibility for managing their public discovery, simply allowing that critical process to happen by mistake. The question for organizations and businesses is this. Will you provide the talking points, or will you just let the consumers (or your competitors) control your destiny for you? Most businesses inadvertently leave potential customers out there hanging in the wind, free to latch onto whatever facts or fables come their way.

Who makes the majority of calls to a plumber, men or women? The correct answer is women. Okay, what do most women think when they think about plumbers? Messy, ugly, dirty, scary, expensive? Okay, so let’s say ABC Plumbing decides to address these issues with talking points.

• Our plumbers are clean. When we say, “clean”, that means in both appearance and with regard to police records. We check and double check.

• We wear protective covers on our shoes so we don’t scuff floors and carpets. We lay down mats where we work and we don’t leave messes.

• We price by the job, not by the hour. We know how long it should take to fix, for example, a leaky faucet. And, we give you that price. You pay the set price whether it takes us half an hour or three hours. Plumbers that charge by the hour? Who knows how much they could charge?

A cleaner, safer, less expensive plumber? Yes. We nail all three elephants in the room. Usually when you need a plumber, you need a plumber NOW. Nancy and I found ourselves in that position. We couldn’t think of a plumber off the top of our heads, so we had to play “Russian Roulette” in the Yellow Book. We lost the Roulette game and picked the wrong plumber. He was filthy dirty. He touched walls and doors with his greasy fingers. He broke our commode. Then he asked if I minded if he smoked. Appalled, I pointed outside. And, he went out into our back yard and smoked a joint. I’m not kidding.  Then, he tried to pass it to me (I said absolutely not, because I knew where his fingers had been).

The next time we needed a plumber, my wife Nancy insisted on doing the shopping.  She followed some advertising talking points and found what she was looking for, a neat, clean, courteous and very expensive plumber. When I commented on the high cost, she said, “I don’t care. I like that company, I trust them and I’m using them.” Clearly after her previous experience, she was willing to sacrifice more treasure for a cleaner, more polite plumber.

Good talking points are sticky, and I mean sticky in a good way.  When properly promoted, they really do stick. I fly a lot and I’m a relatively tall person. So, American Airlines really caught my attention a few years back when they advertised, “More leg room”.  They gave up on that amenity a couple of years later, but that one talking point helped sell me on the brand, and American is still my airline of choice. “Oh, I love American Airlines,” I’d tell my friends. “They’re the one with more leg room,” I would say, dutifully reciting the company’s talking point. “Book American for me instead,” I’d tell my assistant. “Their seats have more leg room,” I’d rationalize.

I paid way too much money for a garden hose. But Flexogen’s talking point, “The last garden hose you’ll ever need,” lifetime replacement warranty stuck with me. It’s the only talking point they’ll ever need. “Hoses shouldn’t be that expensive,” Nancy said, when she saw the receipt. “Yes, but this one has a lifetime warranty. It’s the last hose we’ll ever have to buy,” I shared, in order to justify my purchase to her.

A portable building company, or for that matter, a mini-storage warehouse can immediately increase their sales by giving the people good talking points. For example, “It just doesn’t make sense. Your $30,000 vehicle is parked out on the street, vulnerable to bad weather, hit and runs, vandals and thieves…because you’re storing five hundred dollars worth of junk in your garage. We can help you get the stuff out of the garage so you can park your nice vehicle in the garage where it belongs.” That’s the talking point a spouse has been looking for. She has always hated the clutter in the garage. Now she can tell her husband, “Let’s get a storage unit for that stuff and put the car back into the garage.”

A good Ad Man reminds people that unlike an expensive iPAD, amazon.com’s inexpensive digital reader, the Kindle, works in the bright sun. That’s a great talking point for someone who wants to buy a digital reader anyway, but now sees even more added value, the ability to read on the beach or at the swimming pool. 

Swimming pools? I met a man who sells in-ground swimming pools in Texas. That summer, temperatures stayed at 100 degrees or above, for almost three weeks.  He advertised his swimming pools on television, holding up an electric bill as he said, “Are you sick of getting these high electric bills? Then, get a swimming pool. Think about it. Your family will spend more time outside in the pool. That means you can ratchet up the temperature in the house, and save a lot of money.” Save money? Really? His pools cost 40 thousand dollars, minimum. When would you save money on your electric bill? In the year 2080? But, he said it worked. “You’ve got a guy out there who wants the pool anyway, he just doesn’t have the ammunition he needs to justify the purchase to himself, or his wife. I simply give him the ammo he needs to pull the trigger and call us.”

A personal injury attorney in Kentucky dominates the media in his area. Sometimes he talks about specific situations he’s been involved with, like a miner who was injured on the job. He wrenched his shoulder on a machine. But instead of letting the worker leave and go to the doctor, his boss told him to “man up” and finish the job. When the worker finally got to a doctor, he needed shoulder surgery, then six weeks of physical therapy. When he returned to work, his job had been eliminated. That’s not right. In fact, it’s probably illegal. Many people injured on the job will not sue their former employer. They just don’t think it’s the right thing to do. Or, they’re sitting on the fence. This attorney’s job is to give the people the talking points they need to call him. Then, he’ll decide whether or not their case is lucrative enough to pursue. So, he constantly gives people information on what’s legal and what is not. But he doesn’t stop there. He ventures beyond legality and pushes morality buttons. For example, sometimes, the attorney brings up more ethereal topics like, “When did the right thing to do become more of an opinion than just the ‘right thing to do’?” Talking points.

And then, the crescendo.  At the end of every commercial or ad he always says, “I never take a case I can’t win.” That may sound like a very cliché I.D. but what is he really trying to do? He’s influencing the entire jury pool, that’s what he’s doing. He buys lots of media and he stays on message. If you live in his region and you’re picked for a jury, when you see him what do you think? “Oh, yeah! That’s the guy who never takes a case he can’t…win. Hmmmmmm.”

Good talking points give people the ammunition they need to convince themselves, or perhaps another decision maker, that buying from a particular business is the right thing to do. You cannot just assume that people will just connect the dots it takes to find you for themselves. If you are the one doing the selling, you have the onus of doing the potential customer’s thinking for them. It’s your responsibility to educate consumers. You have to teach them how to use your product or service, and why it’s in their best interest to do so. Talking points need to be brief and right to the point. And again, talking points are not about you, the advertiser. They should only be about the consumer. Give her the reasoning she needs to buy your product or service.

--Paul Weyland is a local direct sales trainer, author and speaker. Paul has shown hundreds of organizations how to cut through the confusion of marketing, reach into the hearts and minds of their customers, close more sales, increase their bottom lines and keep customers for life. Paul keeps his audience on the edge of their seats, laughing in self-recognition, hungry for more and eager to get out there and do it differently... and better. Paul can be reached at 512 236 1222 or at www.paulweyland.com

" This attorney’s job is to give the people the talking points they need to call him. Then, he’ll decide whether or not their case is lucrative enough to pursue. So, he constantly gives people information on what’s legal and what is not. But he doesn’t stop there. He ventures beyond legality and pushes morality buttons. For example, sometimes, the attorney brings up more ethereal topics like, “When did the right thing to do become more of an opinion than just the ‘right thing to do’?” Talking points.

And then, the crescendo.  At the end of every commercial or ad he always says, “I never take a case I can’t win.” That may sound like a very cliché I.D. but what is he really trying to do? He’s influencing the entire jury pool, that’s what he’s doing. He buys lots of media and he stays on message. If you live in his region and you’re picked for a jury, when you see him what do you think? 'Oh, yeah! That’s the guy who never takes a case he can’t…win. Hmmmmmm.' "

Interesting catchphrase, "I never take a case I can't win." In Iowa, no differentiating catchphrases.  In fact, there isn't much legal advertising, period.   Most Iowa legal ads include this disclaimer:  (or at least they used to when I lived there four years)

The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. This disclosure is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa. Memberships and offices in legal fraternities and legal societies, technical and professional licenses, and memberships in scientific, technical and professional associations and societies of law or field of practice do not mean that a lawyer is a specialist or expert in a field of law, nor do they mean that such a lawyer is necessarily any more expert or competent than any other lawyer. A description or indication of limitation of practice does not mean that any agency or board has certified such lawyer as a specialist or expert in an indicated field of law practice, nor does it mean that such lawyer is necessarily any more expert or competent than any other lawyer. All potential clients are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any lawyer being considered.  This notice is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa.

Kentucky might be laissez-faire, but Iowa is overkill!  Alabama is more like it:

Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 7.2(e) (1997)

There are a lot of injury lawyer ads here in CO with catchphrses like "I'll make them pay" or "Call me. It's just that easy."  But "I never take a case I can't win" is over the top and shouldn't be allowed PRECISELY because of the potential of poisoning the jury pool.

That's my only sticking point, otherwise another great article from Mr. Weyland...enjoy reading him.

Russ,

Thank you for your reply; your points are well-taken!  Legal advertising is not a subject with which I'm very familiar, so it was interesting to learn about the different states' policies.  I agree, Alabama's disclaimer seems like a good balance between extremes.

~ Rebecca