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All of the excerpts below are from Harry
Beckwith’s book titled, Selling
the Invisible.
Attacking the Stereotype
Almost every well-known service
industry suffers from a well-known
stereotype.
- Accountants are humorless.
- Lawyers are greedy.
- Collection agencies are bullies.
- Doctors keep you waiting.
- Real estate agents are __________.
How do you think the public would fill
in the blank? Would it be
complimentary? If not, what are
you doing to overcome this negative
stereotype?
Remember, the stereotype of your
service is the first thing that a
prospect thinks about. It is the
first hurdle you must jump, and the
first one over usually wins.
Attack the first weakness: the
stereotype the prospect has about you.
Showing Your Warts
In the mid-1980’s, researchers at
Cleveland State University made a
startling discovery. The
researchers created two fictitious job
candidates, Dave and John; two identical
resumes and two almost identical letters
of reference. The only difference
was that John’s letter included the
sentence “Sometimes John can be
difficult to get along with.”
The researchers showed the resumes to
personnel directors. Which
candidate did the directors most often
want to interview? Answer:
it was “Sometimes difficult to get
along with” John.
The researchers concluded that the
criticism of John made the reference’s
praise of him seem more believable; that
made John look like a stronger
candidate. Showing John’s warts
actually helped sell him.
Rather than hide your weaknesses,
admit them. Admitting weaknesses will
make you look honest and trust-worthy, a
key to selling a service.
Tell the truth. Even if it
hurts, it will help.
Knowing Where
to Tap
A homeowner was suffering from a
persistent problem of a squeaking floor.
No matter what he tried, nothing worked.
Finally he called a carpenter whose
friend said was a true craftsman.
The craftsman walked into the room
and heard the squeak. He set his
toolbox down, pulled out a hammer and
nail, and pounded the nail with three
blows. The squeak was gone
forever. The homeowner was pleased
until he saw the bill for $500. He
asked for a breakdown of the charges and
the craftsman complied with: “Tapping
$1and knowing where to tap $499”
Charge for knowing “where to
tap."
About the book and its author
All of the excerpts below are from
Harry Beckwith’s book titled, Selling
the Invisible. This
“Field Guide to Modern Marketing”
is a must read for anyone in a service
business, which is everyone in business.
Published by Warner Books, Inc., this
$15 publication contains over 150 short
easy to read, digest and apply messages
that “cut to the quick” when it
comes to advancing how we market our
services today. Whether you use it
as a daily primer, a sales meeting
resource or a guide to changing how you
sell your “invisible” product (your
service), you’ll profit from having
this book in your library.
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