The Power (and Pitfalls) of Selling Passion
January 07, 2008
(A Commentary)
By John Windsor
The VP of Sales slammed his hand on the conference table. "Every one of you needs to be more passionate about how you sell our products! People have to know that we're the best thing out there. If you don't show it, they won't believe it."
Sound familiar?
Passion is an incredibly powerful force in moving people to action, whether it's prospects, clients, customers, bosses, peers, subordinates, friends, family or even your dog. Passion grabs people's imaginations and fills them with visions of possibilities. Think of any famous leader—in business, politics, sports or war—and their ability to inspire others is a critical part of what made them successful.
But it's not their personal magnetism that got results; magnetism only gets you noticed. What really made a difference for them—and can make a difference for you—is the ability to inspire passion in others. Get them fired up and they'll follow your lead (or buy your product or support your cause) with great conviction.
You can't just turn on passion any time you like, however. That's one of the fallacies in the scenario above. That VP of Sales was demanding that his troops be passionate, as if being forceful is all you need. But that's not the answer. Passion comes from having a strong vision and a need to make that vision a reality—not from someone telling you to be passionate.
The Bad Side of Passion
Passion can in fact work against you if it's misdirected. If you're absorbed in your own vision or what you want to sell—if your pitch is all about the "me" and not about the needs, interests or goals of the people you want to influence—then no amount of table-pounding is going to help.
Once people think you're only interested in your own agenda, you're hosed. No matter how good your offering or ideas may be, and no matter how forcefully you make your case, people will tire of your passion and tune you out.
And that's the hook—you should be focused on building their passion, not yours. Your passion is relevant only to yourself. This is true whether you're selling a product, a service, a plan, or a dream. It's not about you being loud or gesturing wildly, it's about them going "Yes!"
How to Build Passion (Theirs)
The quick answer: you need to throw out all the logical, rationale approaches and find a way to reach them on an emotional, visceral level. Passion is emotional. And emotions lead to action. Logic, on the other hand, does little to inspire action—and often gets in action's way.
So here's what you need:
1. Have something that will make a BIG difference in people's business, or their lives. We're not talking features—those are only a means to an end. If you're out there pitching features—instead of what those capabilities can help a company accomplish—then you've got little chance or arousing passion in others.
Even if you're selling or marketing something that is perceived as a commodity (say, pipe fittings?), look for those things that can make a difference to the people who are buying your product or service. Exceptional customer service? Special industry data that can help their planning efforts? There are bound to be a lot of ways that you can get them jazzed beyond just your pricing.
2. Once you've settled on the thing or things that can get them excited, make it really clear how they can benefit from the capabilities or ideas you offer (notice I didn't say "products" or "services" here…). Don't drag out the old "Features & Benefits" slide; that could kill your momentum in a heart-beat. Instead, focus on one to three things—no more—that will truly make a difference in their business or their personal experience.
The fewer key ideas you put in front of them, the more power each of those items has. You can use as many supporting elements as you like, but limit your story to no more than three parts.
3. If you can, find a way to personalize the gains your prospect, client, customer or colleague can achieve. Look for things that can improve or elevate their day-to-day experience—things like streamlining workflows, reducing risk, increasing their visibility, and so on.
The more they can see themselves in the picture you paint, the greater is the likelihood of them becoming passionate about your vision. So be sure to mention how others just like them have achieved the gains you're suggesting.
How to Build Passion (Yours)
If you have a truly compelling story to tell, and you express it simply and sincerely, the people you're trying to influence will respond very positively. And as they get amped up, you'll find that you, too, are energized.
Now, did you get excited because they got excited, or did they get excited because you were? If you're focused on helping them improve their situation (rather than just closing a deal or getting that extra bit of response on your campaign), it will happen naturally—and it's a great feeling.
Sidebar: For more ideas on passion in communications, check out "They're not playing grab-ass anymore!" and "&@%# Dog…" on The YouBlog. For help to making your communications more compelling, visit us at creatingthunder.com.
John Windsor, an online columnist for Sales & Marketing Management, is president of Creating Thunder, a Boulder, Colo.-based communications training and consulting company. As author of the popular YouBlog, John offers a unique mix of innovation, communications, sales and marketing ideas. An award-winning marketer, John has held vice president positions in marketing, sales, and business development and has worked with companies like American Express, Reuters, Staples, and Knight-Ridder.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
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