"You’ve done everything to get [the customer] interested and ready to buy. They obviously like what you’re selling, but they shift, fidget, and inexplicably walk away. And your sure sale slips through your fingers forever."
- The Brain Audit, back cover
"The Brain Audit is a language the brain understands. It’s not a language of persuasion. Or coercion. It doesn’t psyche the customer into buying against his or her will. It’s simple a language the brain understands and responds to."- The Brain Audit, page xvii
Selling has a complexity to it. The buyer goes through several steps, many of them subconscious, before they get to the point where they say, “Yes, I want that.” Knowing the psychology behind this, salespeople can build an approach that follows and support the buyer’s process.
D’Souza suggests the following sequence that salespeople should follow:
1. Identify The Problem
2. Present A Solution
3. Define The Target Profile
4. Handle Objections
5. Collect Testimonials
6. The Risk Reversal
7. Establish Your Uniqueness
I wish I had room to discuss each on in-depth, but that’s not the case. But looking at the list, it’s easy to see where salespeople get off track. For starters, many salespeople are passionate about their product and their company. They believe in what they sell and the value they create. So much so, they like to start the conversation talking about themselves, their solution. They list features and benefits. They talk about promotions and deals. But that doesn’t work unless you’ve identified the problem. People spend money to fix problems – to eliminate pain or create gain. Simple as that. Until you understand what the customer wants to achieve, it’s hard to achieve what you want.
Let’s look at two of these sections in more depth.
"What if you had a more believable testimonial? A testimonial that not only shows us the ‘after’ scenario, but reveals the ‘before’ as well. A testimonial with the complete picture."- The Brain Audit, page 87
Everyone in sales understands the value of a testimonial. But this book has completely changed how I will go about collecting them in the future. One of the problems with testimonials is they are “too sugary.” They are filled with lavish praise, making customers skeptical about them in the first place.
D’Souza says there is a specific “construction” that makes testimonials far more effective. “When you use structure, you don’t get random testimonials, but instead you get testimonials that are specific and story-like.”
The key word is story. Testimonials that work tell a story.
With this format as a guideline, you can now begin to coach customers on how to structure their testimonials in the future.
"If you’re customer can’t tell you the uniqueness of your brand in a millisecond, then either you don’t have a uniqueness, or you’ve failed to make your uniqueness well known."- The Brain Audit, page 126
As the barriers to entry in virtually every market and every industry get smaller, the ability to identify and communicate what makes you unique, what makes you special, and worth paying attention to is arguably the most important thing every business and salesperson needs to establish.
D’Souza says there are two things a business or salesperson must do to accomplish establishing their uniqueness or point of differentiation.
First you have to choose something that really is unique. If someone else can make the same claim, you haven’t succeeded. If someone else can easily copy what you do, that won’t work either. Being unique requires focus, discipline, and commitment.
And second you have to choose one thing. Not two, not three, but one single characteristic, one feature, one skill that you want to be known for and highlight it like crazy. It’s tempting to want to talk about everything you do all the time. And while those things may be important and relevant in specific situations, you need to establish the one thing that makes you different.
You can see how major brands have done this. Volvo cars have plenty of features, but they are known for one thing – safety. Walmart sells a lot of things, but they are known for one thing – low prices.
Very few absolutes exist in sales and marketing, and almost no guarantees. You’re dealing with individuals who have specific needs, different motivations, and different triggers. This means that no process works 100% of the time. It will, however, help you to position your product more effectively and identify which areas you need to make changes or modifications to.
