The Big Idea
A lot of people consider selling a very difficult task. Unfortunately for them, selling is an activity that forms part of everyone's daily routine. It occurs not only at work, but also when you are at home with your family, or when you are enjoying a cup of coffee with a friend.
Types of selling include debating with your friend on what type of movie to watch, convincing your boss to adapt to a different way of management, and getting that top client to buy your company's products. You must remember that selling does not limit itself to cars, clothes or food.
In the book Metaphorically Selling, author Anne Miller explains that given time and the right method, anyone can learn how to sell, persuade and explain. By using simple metaphors and visually-enticing words, you can change your status from a poor loser to a topnotch scorer.
The Case for Metaphor
The Challenge: Getting Heard
You live in a world where people read newspapers and get bombarded by print advertisements every morning. You live in a world where large billboards fight for attention, and television commercials have become a way of life.
Since selling is an everyday occurrence, you must learn to accept that your udience has heard the very same pitch that you prepared countless times before. How then do you force a jaded audience to loosen their guard and listen to you?
First, you must learn to talk from your audience's point of view. Get your listeners to understand what it is you're selling by picking the right words. Speak their language and use words that they can relate to. Remember, you are not selling your product to yourself.
Second, don't bombard your audience with too much information. Keep in mind that you are only given a short time to make a sales pitch. It would be a fatal mistake to overwhelm your audience with too many facts and figures.
Lastly, to do justice to your product without boring your audience, it would be most helpful and advantageous to use visual words. Arming your presentation with visual words enable you to explain fully what your product is about without spoiling your audience's zeal.
What are Metaphors?
When you were a student, you were taught that a metaphor is a figure of speech. Your professor may have failed to tell you however; just how important a metaphor is when it comes to selling.
A metaphor is a way to communicate your message to any given audience in an
instant. You do this by using words that compare one thing to another. The brilliance of a metaphor is that you can easily come up with comparisons that are familiar to your audience. You can use metaphors that your audience can strongly associate with.
The best way to explain this further is to tell you what not to do. If you are speaking before a group of female activists, it is never a good idea to use metaphors extolling the triumph of men in sports.
When Do You Need Metaphors?
Without question, a metaphor is a powerful tool. In fact, metaphors will help you close a sale no matter what kind of audience you are interacting with. While you may not need to use metaphors all the time, be keen and alert when one is needed. You know you have to start firing a metaphor the moment your audience starts showing hostility. . .
This article is based on the following book:
Metaphorically Selling - A Book Summary
How to Use the Magic of Metaphors to Sell, Persuade & Explain Anything to Anyone
By Anne Miller
Chiron Associates, Inc., New York 2004
ISBN: 0-9762794-0-1
161 Page
By: Regine P. Azurin
Regine Azurin is the President of BusinessSummaries.com, a company that provides business book summaries of the latest bestsellers for busy executives and entrepreneurs.
http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs
Mailto: mailto:freearticle@bizsum.com
BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service.
(c) Copyright 2001- 2005, BusinessSummaries.com - Wisdom In A Nutshell
Twin Falls Economic Report done by me; Twin Falls, ID... Read More
Win-Win Partnerships ? Be on the Leading Edge with Synergistic... Read More
Review by Jessica Dearborn Tolucan Times / Canyon Crier -... Read More
Excerpted from the book "Your Right to Be Beautiful: How... Read More
Book Summary:This article is based on the following book: ... Read More
Last week I found an interesting book called ... Read More
The author of Be the Leader: Make the Difference, a... Read More
This is one book that I would have cherished as... Read More
MONEY WITHOUT MATRIMONY: The Unmarried Couples Guide to Financial Security,... Read More
Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life is another book focusing... Read More
I have decided to start with this text as simply... Read More
I've discovered a new favorite author, and his name is... Read More
Moon Child by Simone Maroney is a larger sized adventure,... Read More
Dr. Frankel clearly identifies the common mistakes ?101 in all-that... Read More
What Color is Your Parachute? Reviewed by: Matt Keegan ©... Read More
Just think. If the Vikings had made just that little... Read More
This very fun, exciting, fast-paced, warm novella - Bob the... Read More
"Carlton Austin has crafted a wonderful piece of work in... Read More
Dragon Tales by Mary C. Fairbanks is truly and entertaining... Read More
Chapter OneI was ready to start the fourth grade, the... Read More
Percival Everett's Erasure takes a look at how racism affects... Read More
"Why Malta?" my new Maltese friends kept asking me when... Read More
Title: Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely... Read More
This article is based on the following book:What Is The... Read More
Today Lavaine is doing well and able to go about... Read More
Reality Checked ? Life through Death, is a moving saga... Read More
Geeks & Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape... Read More
Unfortunately, I have seen too many of even the most... Read More
Retired police captain, Marshall Frank, has written another excellent read... Read More
The black widow spider is notorious for eating her mate... Read More
Author/Publisher Christmas in Dairyland by LeAnn R. Ralph Published by... Read More
Sir Isaac Newton knew about the Bible code 300 hundred... Read More
"I just can't seem to get along with this person!"Every... Read More
"The dedication in this book is a work of poetry... Read More
Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life is another book focusing... Read More
Author: Thomas C. Oden Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco;... Read More
The Hushed Willow by Lorna Joy Knox nee Ramsamugh is... Read More
Practice What You Preach: What Managers Must Do to Create... Read More
The Joy Of Dating Again is designed to be a... Read More
From the depths of despair to the heights of hope.... Read More
Author Joseph Yakel presents his own blend of humor and... Read More
On July 17, 2005 Cahuenga Press released Undercurrent Blues by... Read More
You look at the salesletter and the price tag ($8.95... Read More
Now, I know what you're probably thinking, "Reading and eBook... Read More
Jack Welsh, the recently retired CEO of General Electric, presents... Read More
What Color is Your Parachute? Reviewed by: Matt Keegan ©... Read More
With this all possible the price could be lowered to... Read More
Marone Memoirs ? An immigrant Story by author Sarah E.... Read More
On the Brink of Risk is a fiction novel inspired... Read More
It is hard to specify exactly what genre Larry Roth's... Read More
By now most of you realise that Google can give... Read More
In James Martell's Affiliate Handbook, he mentions that he focuses... Read More
Sir Isaac Newton knew about the Bible code 300 hundred... Read More
Since the 1950's, Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo has been... Read More
"This has to be one of the best detective novels... Read More
This large (about 378 pages), fantasy-adventure novel should give best... Read More
Finite Capacity Scheduling by Gerhard Plenert PhD and Bill KirchmeirI... Read More
Ever wonder why most small businesses-- no matter how huge... Read More
Fading Toward Enlightenment by Wayne Wirs is definitely a well... Read More
If you want to make a lot of money with... Read More
King Bartholomew and the Jester's Riddle by Pina Mastromonaco is... Read More
Spread the word about your hot new product or company!Word-of-mouth... Read More
Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work by... Read More
I've reviewed a number of eBooks recently, and none of... Read More
Let me start with a small disclaimer: I am a... Read More
Ever wonder why most small businesses-- no matter how huge... Read More
Book Reviews |