The Magic Words That Get You “In”

Posted by Mike Massie on March 19, 2009

It's no wonder consumers are skeptical about things that are "free"...

The other day, I spent about 45 minutes on the phone helping a school owner trouble-shoot his operations.

The thing is, he didn’t pay me for my time, and I don’t really know him from Adam.

So, how’d he get such a big hunk of my time… for “free”?

He said the magic words:

“I bought your book a while ago…”

Allow me to interpret that, so you’ll understand the psychology behind why I was so willing to provide this individual with my time…

Basically, when I heard those words, my mind interepreted it as, “Mike, I am more than just interested in you and your company… in fact, I’ve taken the extra step to do something that benefits you before I ever contacted you to ask for your help.”

This is what is known in marketing as “reciprocation” – you do something nice for me, and I’ll naturally be compelled to do something nice for you back. And, it’s a powerful sales tool that can “get your foot in the door” with your customers.

Now, I should add this caveat regarding reciprocation… after years of having this principle used as a form of overt manipulation, consumers are rather skeptical regarding anything that is “free”.

So, you should exercise this principle with caution… or, rather, with courtesy.

Here’s what I mean:

Instead of overwhelming your prospect with seemingly unbelievable offers of “FREE! FREE! FREE!”, you should instead overwhelm them with outstanding courtesy, professionalism, and customer service – and then as a “by the way” type thing, you give them something for free that they never expected nor requested.

That’s powerful, and it works because it’s a marketing tactic that is based on building relationships and doing things in a way that is at once selfless while at the same time potentially serving you and your school.

So, in case you missed it, here are those magic words:

“How can I help you?” (Hint: They only work when you mean it.)

Wow, what a concept.

—

Mike Massie is the author of Small Dojo Big Profits and runs a martial arts business coaching website for new instructors and small school owners, StartingAMartialArtSchool.com.

Questions? Comments? Completely disagree? Let the world know – post your comments below: