The Problem with Best Practices - Why They Don't Work (Part I) September 2010

Capitalizing on Credibility - What's the Biggest Payoff? August 2010

The Myth of Client-Focus July 2010

Marketing Therapy - Just lie back and relax... June 2010

The Producer's Guide to Asking Questions May 2010

Questions - The Shortest Path from Prospect to Client April 2010

How to Build Your Credibility March 2010

Credibility's Impact on YOUR Bottom Line February 2010

How to Use Social Media in Your Business December 2009

Psychological Analysis of Your Marketing September 2009

How Contrarian Logic Makes Sales for You August 2009

Words that Sell - How to Use Psychology in Your Marketing and Selling July 2009

The Secrets of Marketing Psychology (Part I) June 2009

You've been replaced by a cartoon! May 2009

8 Ways to Distinguish Yourself in a Challenging Market (Part II) April 2009

8 Ways to Distinguish Yourself in a Challenging Market (Part I) March 2009

The Worst Mistake in Selling Financial Services January 2009

Fighting for Success! The “Special Forces” Approach December 2008

Yours - Free! November 2008

First-Impressions of Credibility - Part One October 2008

Article Index

In September, a huge uproar erupted about politicians using subliminal advertising. Allegedly, the Republican Party created a TV spot that flashed the word "Rats" onto the screen. You can use this controversy to great advantage for your business. And, I'll explain how to do it.

As an ad writer in the early 80s, I launched into learning everything I could about how to use subliminal messages to influence my readers. The problem is, all the research at the time focused on visual perception.

Macabre faces were shown on ice cubes. Sexual images were inserted into cigarette packages. This type of subliminal messages were found in magazine ads. In the academic world, words and geometrical figures were flashed into the eyes of research subjects. Do you use any of those techniques in your marketing? Of course not. So, they hold little value for you, right? Still, you can use subliminal messages in a completely ethical way to get your message to your clients.

What does subliminal influence gain for you? It simply presents you in the most favorable light. If you're like most professionals I've met, that's a huge goal that you may not have been able to achieve, yet. However, there is no way you're going to use any subliminal, liminal or superliminal messages to make any client cluck like a chicken or do anything they wouldn't already do. That said, if the client possess both the need and want for your service, and the ability to pay for your service, well, you might be able to present your written message in such a way as to help her or him to pay more attention to you.

Is that important to you, now?

Broker. If you're a broker, do you want more planners or agents reading your letters? Sure. Isn't that how you convince them to consider doing business with you?

Planner. If you're a planner, do you want more wealthy people reading your letters? Of course you do. Isn't that how you create opportunities for them to know and begin to trust you?

So, the question is: how do you construct your message so more people will read more of it? It's taken me about twenty years to learn these techniques. After reading about twenty books and taking hundreds of hours of training in the fine points of psychological language patterns, it would take me weeks to teach you how to use psychological language patterns like a pro. However, I can give you 3 simple guidelines that will help you enormously:

1. Build a psychological profile of your best A-level target market. If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times. "Mike, I've got the right demographics!" While the list you use is certainly important, if you know only the zip code, you actually know nothing about your readers. You must discover things like this:

• Are they focused on procedures or alternatives?
• Do they want direction or do they want to set their own standards?
• Do they rely on testimonials?
• Are they information seekers, or do they jump directly into action?
• Should you give general information or specifics?

Once you can answer some of those questions, you'll be able to talk directly to them. And, you'll be able to use language patterns that get past their mental filtering system. Some of it may be unconscious, and some of it may be obviously conscious. But until you know who is receiving your messages, mostly, it will be wasted.

2. Start with a Truth Frame. Say three things that are immediately and obviously true. The more those things relate to the reader, the better and more effective they will be. This technique nudges the reader into believing you. Like a snowball starting to roll down a hill, the Truth Frame begins to build your momentum.

3. Don't tell them what not to do. In order to comprehend "negative advice" like "Don't procrastinate," or "Don't' drink and drive," or "Stop thinking about sex," the reader first has to access the positive of what you're saying not to do. The "sex" thing is perfect example. In order to stop thinking about it, you first have to begin thinking about it. So, when you tell your clients, or your children, to stop doing something, you're actually encouraging them to begin doing it. Duh.

Inside your client's head is a robot. It wants to do good, and it's waiting for direction. But it will only accept the direction when it's given in the right language and in the right structure. Your job is to figure out what the appropriate language and structure are. Only then can you actually communicate with it.

When you combine those three guidelines, you will reach more people more effectively. And if you're really lucky, some of them just might cluck like chickens. But if you don't pay attention to the psychological aspects of your marketing and sales communication (subliminal or otherwise), many of them will laugh like hyenas!

MICHAEL LOVAS is the author of ten books, three columns, and a thousand articles on Professional Credibility and the Psychology of Communication in the financial industry. He's the co-founder of AboutPeople and the founder of Credibility Marketing.

Michael speaks at conferences and seminars in Canada and the US. He is an inspiring trainer and coach who helps advisors improve their businesses. He holds three prestigious certifications: Licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), Licensed Trainer of NLP; and Clinical Hypnotherapist. They make Michael an expert at helping financial professionals succeed at a higher level by building more meaningful business relationships.

AboutPeople Books:

1. (NEW) Questions Are the Answer! - A guide for using questions effectively in sales conversations
2. (NEW) Axis of Influence! - How credibility & likeability intersect to drive success!
3. (NEW) Words that Sell - The language of psychological marketing & selling
4. Face Values - How to read people and connect with them in less than 3 minutes!
5. The Boomer Report - The financial advisor's guide to understanding the boomer mind
6. Presentation Magic - How to gain a psychological advantage in your seminars and sales presentations
7. The 5 Levels of Rapport - How to create a meaningful connection with people who are important to you
8. Magnetic Connections - Consultative selling for financial professionals
9. IDENTITY - How to create and deliver the most important statement of your business life
10. Inside the Mind of the Senior Market
11. Beyond Wave Marketing - How to add credibility to your relationship marketing

Find AboutPeople books at: www.aboutpeople.com

Michael Lovas, C.Ht.
AboutPeople
(509) 465-5599
1503 E. Riverview Dr.
Colbert, WA 99005
www.aboutpeople.com

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