Posted on: 03 December, 2001
Author: Wild Bill Montgomery
How well you sell your ideas is just as ... as how good those ideas are.So, let's get started. How do you sell your ideas? 1. ... ... 2. Savvy ... 3. Slick ... 4. S How well you sell your ideas is just as important as how good those ideas are.So, let's get started. How do you sell your ideas? 1. Strategic Positioning 2. Savvy Psychology 3. Slick Presentation 4. Structural Persuasion 5. Solving the ProblemOf course I can't give you a complete course in thisarticle, but I can supply you with enough knowledge tobecome a dangerous adversary in your battle to beheard.1. Strategic Position:To sell an idea you must have a strategy. Before youbegin defining your selling idea, you must create anddefine a strategy. Your strategy could be as simple asthis; "Our strategy is to gain awareness of thedangerous effects that radon presents to the public andto offer a free detection device. On discovery of thedanger, we offer a 1-800 number on the detection deviceto sell our abatement service to effected clients". Oryour strategy could be a complex and diverse plan ofattack including TV, Radio, Newspaper and InternetAdvertising Campaigns. Whatever your strategy may be,the most important is that you believe in it. If youdon't believe in your selling strategy, you have a poorchance in convincing the client to believe in it.2. Savvy Psychology:Selling an idea in any form really comes down to"talking to people". Think about how they feel whenthey read, see and/or listen to your selling idea. Theprinciple of writing up a good selling idea is in thepresentation. Learn to involve others in your sellingidea and presentation. Test your ideas out on friends,family and peers involved in your industry. Listen towhat they have to say. They will often have veryvaluable input and will help to make your selling ideabetter.Pay close attention to the psychology of your client.You client will have one question in mind, "What's init for me"? Understanding that one point alone can bethe difference between success and failure. You need togain insight into how the client will feel and react toyour presentation. This is Savvy Psychology in action!3. Slick Presentation:A good presentation makes people want to read, watch orlisten to what you have to say. Presentation (otherthan audio alone) requires the joint effort of twodistinct facets. One is the actual copy; the other isthe layout and graphics. One is an integral part of theother. Presentation of a selling idea is not unlikepresenting a play. Writing and presenting it is likewriting a script and staging it. It requires abelievable script, rehearsal and timing. Layout andgraphics are more important now than ever. The clientcan often fight back the words, but visual stimulationis an unconscious reaction and a strong selling tool.A great layout and a good storyboard will make yourclient want to "do" the presentation.4. Structural Persuasion:How do you persuade people? It's simple! By meetingtheir needs and aspirations, which is not always sosimple. Persuasion is not a science, but an art. Art isa form of expression and so is presenting an yourselling idea. The most critical part is the entry orthe beginning. First impressions are important in anypart of life. Presentation is no exception. Ineverything that you communicate, whether it's the firstsentence in your copy or the first thought in yourpresentation, you must be concerned with that vitalstep. In today's "advertising congested" world, youmust fight to get your presentation noticed. That's whythe first words and visual stimuli are so important.You must literally capture your reader or viewerimmediately.So what about the rest. Try starting out with a roughoutline of the presentation with titles and subheadsfor each part of the presentation sequence. Think aboutthe toughest questions that will be asked and supplythem with the answers. The more doubt a client has, theless likely they are to believe in what you have tosay. Always know what you are doing and where you aregoing with it. Know where the client is and how to getthem where you want them to be. Be organized andsequential. Do things step by step and by the numbers.For the best results, learn to organize your thoughtprocesses and develop good organizational habits. Yourlayout and presentations will reflect this.5. Solving the Problem:What's the problem? The problem, or should I sayproblems, are "needs and answers". Clients have needs.Knowing what those needs are is an essential factor insolving the problem. You can't present a solutionwithout first knowing that they have a need for one.You must also provide the client with the answers,answers to questions they haven't asked. If you canfill the "needs" and answer the "questions" you can"Solve the Problem"!Remember: Salesmanship = Strategy + Structure + Style - Doubt Article Tags: Selling Idea Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com