by Victor Antonio, Sales Influence

 

Neuromarketing - Book Overview

If I were to summarize Neuromarketing in one phrase it would be, “A book that describes a method for creating contrast in your product messaging in order to cut through the ‘social noise’ and reach your intended client with purposeful impact.”  Neuromarketing is really a marketing formula (with independent variables) that guides the user in how to develop an effective message to achieve the desired outcome.

Antonio Damasio’s quote, “We are not thinking machines that feel, we are felling machines that think” provides the book’s underlying narrative.  Or as the authors highlight throughout: the New Brain thinks (500ms reaction time), the middle brain feels, and the old brain decides (2ms reaction time).  The old brain is the master controller of our actions and the book’s objective is to learn how to influence the old brain.

The brain is 450 million years old and language has only been around for 10,000 years; which means that words haven’t been around long enough to have a great impact on the brain.   What the brain sees (visual) is still the dominant mode for ensuring its survival (i.e., getting it to respond and take action).   

The authors suggest six messaging stimuli that can be used to ‘grab’ the old brain’s attention (i.e., capture a person’s attention):

  1. Self centered – Appeal to the self-centered old brain who only cares about its personal survival
  2. Contrast– Disrupt the complacency frame with a unique message or visual.
  3. Tangible inputs – Use simple phrasing and concepts; avoid high-level abstractions.
  4. Beginning and End – Anticipation of what’s coming and how it will end creates excitement.
  5. Visual Stimuli – Images are the superhighway to the old brain.
  6. Emotion – Make the message meaningful and personal.

Understanding what makes the Old Brain ‘tic’, here is a four-step process for constructing an effective sales or marketing message: 

  1. Diagnose the Pain
  2. Differentiate the Claim
  3. Demonstrate the Gain

The 4th and final step is how to actually ‘Deliver the message to the Old Brain’.  Here are 6 building blocks to help you construct and effective old brain message:

  1. Grabber – attention grabbing strategies (e.g., stories, props, wordplays)
  2. Big Picture – Visuals showing Before/After, Beginning/End, Then/Now
  3. Claims – Short and repeatable benefit statement
  4. Proof of Gain – From most impactful to least: client story, demo, data or vision.
  5. Handling Objections – Restate, Reassess and Reframe in the positive
  6. The Close – Summarize claims and ask for the next step

To boost the impact of your message remember to: Make it personal to them, establish credibility by demonstrating empathy and competence, include emotionally charged visuals or wording, contrast where you can, adjust your approach to how they learn (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), use stories and remember, less is more-be concise.

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