What Motivates People To Buy According To Beckwith
When I was in the sixth grade of elementary school, I read Vance Packard’s The Hidden Persuaders three times.
For the past 45 years, I have tried to understand what motivates people to buy, particularly why they choose one product over another, apparently identical.
I have finally come to some firm conclusions, including, as you will see, a reservation about “firm” conclusions.
40 Reasons That Drive To Choose A Product
1. Your biggest competitor isn’t a competitor, it’s your prospect’s indifference.
2. Your second biggest competitor isn’t a competitor either, it’s the mistrust of your customer
3. Your biggest obstacle is any stereotype your customer has formed of you and your industry.
4. Prospects decide in the first 5 seconds.
5. Prospects are not trying to make the best choice but the one that is most comfortable for them.
6. Deep down, every prospect is risk averse and the risks are always more tangible than the rewards.
7. Be wary of what you think you know or have experienced, memories constantly fail.
8. For the same reason, be careful what others say they know or have experienced.
9. Certainty is a trick your mind plays on you, keep yours open.
10. If everyone likes your idea, it’s not a good idea. Good ideas always make enemies.
11. Don’t create something that everyone likes, create something that many people love.
12. Research never shows anything, it only suggests.
13. Never take what people say they think too seriously, because people are never sure. I just trusted the action.
14. The more similar two things seem, the more important their little differences are. Accentuate the trivial.
15. Your most valuable salesperson is the person who answers the phone.
16. You must continually improve because people constantly raise their expectations.
17. Whatever you do, do it faster. Speed always sells.
18. People don’t care how good you are. What interests them is how good it is for them.
19. The best companies are not the ones that make the fewest mistakes, but the ones that make the best corrections.
20. You can’t convince someone that you have a superior product at a low price. Make up your mind at once.
21. We call these “ premium prices ” because a higher price means insurance that your product will work well.
22. “Value” is not a compelling message or a defensible marketing position, because every product that survives in a market has shown that it delivers value for its asking price.
23. Despite all the warnings, all people judge books by their covers.
24. People hear what they see, you must communicate visually.
25. The more complex our society becomes, the more valuable our brands become.
26. When in doubt — which is almost always the case — people choose what is familiar.
27. Brands not only attract customers but also improve customer satisfaction. Brands have placebo effects.
28. No intelligent person should be influenced by advertising, but every intelligent person is.
29. Keep everything simple: your name, your message, your design. Remove everything until only the essentials remain.
30. If it takes 50 words to make your sales proposition, I’ll buy the one that takes 20.
31. Deliver 1 important message and people will think 3 good things about you. Communicate 3 messages and people will think nothing.
32. People don’t learn from descriptions. They learn from stories.
33. If you show it, you don’t have to explain it. If you don’t show it, the explanation is a waste of everyone’s time.
34. There is no “best”.
35. Common names, common words, and common images warn us that you (and your product) must be common, too.
36. Lincoln had no slides at Gettysburg.
37. Never criticize your competitors.
38. The fastest way to improve your communications is to cut it in half.
39. The second fastest way is to try to eliminate all adjectives.
40. The ultimate test of communication: Does it make people stop what they are doing?
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