I absolutely agree with the rising opinion that marketing done by the “Scientific Approach” alone could be construed as back door cold calling; and to most, considered insulting.
Recently, I came across an email shared by the President of a Local Corporation. The email was sent to reach a decision maker and in it’s delivery had reached its mark. It was poised to give the recipient, (or the decision maker), the impression that the sender knew them personally and had something to tell them. Sealed with nothing more than strategy closing remarks; it attempted to pinpoint probable pain points with a desire resulting in an in-person meeting. The remarks led to positioning the recipient in a fear factor and the sender in their perceived saving grace. Ultimately it did nothing more than leave the recipient feeling violated and insulted. If all we are hoping for is a human, in-person moment, shouldn’t our approaches be more personable?
The tried and true Scientific Approach is to do your research so as not to approach uneducated and then, with sincerity, present a true relative problem in the community, or industry, (or pain point), and ask them to take a moment to review some possible solutions. This is when we have taken the scientific approach and applied it perfectly. The balance in the life of a salesman is to include the Human Approach. It is to never forget the person you are talking to is a HUMAN. They have human feelings, emotions, and are just like you in many ways. And that is the Human Approach that EVERY Industry Official is craving and why we are seeing more blogs and posts about how offended people become after they are the recipient of the “Scientific Approach” email. Most Decision Makers spend most of their time reviewing “logical” information. If you throw them into a deep emotional anxiety state, they will hate you, if you throw them into a deep emotional happy state, they might love you.
“you need me more
than I need you”
Figure this, the scientific approach, when applied correctly, should meet a present need or present a community need or a “relative need” in their industry; not assume they have a need. The approach should also state the direction of your solution clearly instead of convoluted statements of solution impressions. The problem is that the senders are getting lazy and insensitive in thinking that if they simply employ the Scientific Approach, it will replace the Human Approach instead of complimenting the process. For many years, sales tactics taught us that introducing ourselves as an asset to the community with over inflated cause and effect fear factors would educate the recipient of their need for us and our knowledge. They taught us that portraying the “You need me more than I need you” attitude puts our targets in the mindset of needing us to survive. They also believed that nonsensical, lyrical statements to fetch a probable pain point out of air was the only way to immediately gain respect and rapport. When in fact, the sender of this maddening approach only accomplishes two things in the recipient; they instill fear and shut down. In order to employ one’s problem-solving skills, you must be anxiety free. Fear and shut down is in actuality the true state of anxiety. Now, who can make a decision while having an anxiety attack?
What happens when you start advice with, “ya know what you need…”. Most people will shut down or assume you are being boisterous or gloating. In my opinion, that is no way to win someone’s sympathy. My personal approach has always been a bit more methodical.
I enjoy becoming a consumer of the product or service, inserting myself into the industry and then gaining rapport as a regular customer. I enjoy making the recipient proud of their product or service and asking them be open to ways of improving it to overcome industry competitors. This way, I have become more human and have “earned my right” to scientifically approach a decision maker. I start with the Human Approach and end with the Scientific Approach. The problem with this process is that you can’t always buy what they are selling. For instance; approaching a commercial concrete company’s president might present to be more difficult than approaching a local restaurant owner.
Let’s be real though, the real goal is to gain rapport to sell our solution product or service. Right? If the ultimate long-term goal is rapport, we should fully understand what rapport is. It is defined as a harmonious and sympathetic relationship. Meaning that the sender and recipient can find themselves at one with a state of being or mindset. We cannot have rapport without being “one” with our recipient. Sharing same goals or morals makes us human. Placing someone in a state of anxiety while we stay cool, calm and collected seems a bit more like bullying, doesn’t it? So what is the alternative?
First we need to really understand what our intention is. I have to believe that if one is in a fearful state, they cannot be harmonious decision makers. The fact is that 90% of decisions are done with emotion! As marketers and sales reps, we have to ask ourselves, “what is the first decision I am asking them to make?” What state of mind do I want them in while they are making that first decision? Do I want them to feel good about themselves or unsure about themselves?
If the first decision is to decide whether or not to schedule 15 minutes with us, we’d better hope at the end of our approach we’ve made them feel good about themselves. I certainly wouldn’t invite someone over who gives me anxiety or makes me feel insecure about my decision making skills! Would you? The Human Factor holds up in the Scientific Factor as long as the approach brings the warmth and fuzzies we all crave.
Remember, The “science” part of the Scientific Approach is only this, do research and educate yourself about the person you are talking to before you approach them so you have the ability to balance the tables in conversation. The “human” factor in the Human Approach is to become “one” with them. Combining the two methodically and yet, gracefully is the “Art” of doing sales properly.
“studies show 90% of
decisions are based on emotion”
Know your Market and target with honesty, education and class. Human targeting brings human solutions. We are all in it for something. If we make sure our goal is real happiness instead of statistical happiness, we will all provide solid recipients of our solutions.
Considerately,
Corrie Vallance
Your Happy Solutions Advisor
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