When I talk about selling, particularly the sales presentation part of the sales process, I tend to talk in terms sales scripts.
This is mainly because sales scripts tend to cover all aspects of a sales presentation, so that people can pick and choose what elements are relevant to their prospects, marketing & sales pipeline and product, service or solution.
However, not all products, services or solutions need a sales pipeline (nor is a pipeline practical), nor direct response.
In fact, direct response marketing doesn’t really work for products like beer, so an effective marketing strategy is branding…
This could be for fast moving consumer goods.
And not all products, services or solutions need an all the elements I have outlined in a sales script either.
And it doesn’t even need to be a script that is written or verbal.
It can be visual.
A great example of this is beer; a fast moving consumer good.
Take for example the following sales presentation, by the brand like Corona Extra:
Under Pipeline Alignment, this sales presentation is an advertisement and follows the formula also known as the acronym, AIDA:
- (A)ttention;
- (I)nterest;
- (D)esire; and
- (A)ction.
The term and format are attributed to Elias St. Elmo Lewis.
When discussing advertising, Lewis said, “The mission of an advertisement is to attract a reader, so that he will look at the advertisement and start to read it; then to interest him, so that he will continue to read it; then to convince him, so that when he has read it, he will believe it.
If an advertisement contains these three qualities of success, it is a successful advertisement.
This is what they mean:
- You first need to attract prospects’ or customers’ attention, cut through and stand out among all the other communication they are receiving;
- You then need to engage prospects or customers so they listen to your message;
- You then need to help them convince themselves that they desire your offer; and
- You finally need them to act on that desire.
How AIDA works for Corona Extra:
- Corona Extra, attracts a prospect’s attention by creating curiosity about what the 3 males are doing in the advertisement;
- The prospects is then engaged by the writing: “From where you’d rather be;”
- “From where you’d rather be” implies the prospect is not in a beach oasis; in fact where Corona Extra runs the advertisements is in metropolitan cities, so they know their statement is true. And it’s a pretty convincing statement that most prospects would rather be in a beach oasis than the metropolitan city;
- And in combination of the above 3 elements, the prospect will ideally act on that desire of being in a beach oasis by purchasing Corona Extra.
Buy you are probably thinking that the beer will not create a beach oasis, it’s only beer.
Well, people don’t buy features.
People don’t even buy benefits.
People buy outcomes that move them away from pain or towards pleasure or both.
In fact, sometimes people just buy for the feeling of what a particular outcome would be like.
They buy the beer because the image along with it invokes the feeling of “From where you’d rather be.”
When they drink the beer they go back to that image in their head and tell the story to themselves that they are in a beach oasis.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
As this is an advertisement, you’ll notice Corona Extra still uses the majority of the vital sales elements in a sales script.
Not all are needed, as it is a fast moving consumer good sale.
Here are the elements included:
- Value proposition;
- Benefits;
- Who it is for and not for; and
- Call to action.
Not:
- Brand creation story;
- Brand credibility;
- Features;
- Advantage;
- The offer;
- The price;
- That value translated into other currencies;
- Guarantees;
- Bonuses and incentives; and
- Testimonials and case studies.
Why would Corona Extra choose a visual sales script over text or verbal?
Again, a picture is worth a thousand words.
It would be harder to convey the benefits of “From where you’d rather be” in a text add alone.
Second, brand congruence.
Corona Extra, has elected a premium brand, to which they have to be congruent with in all of their touch points.
So, how can you use this to your advantage?
If you have a multiple step sales pipeline line and a premium product you should opt for an image sales script.
If you have a multiple step sales pipeline line and a commodity product you should opt for a text or verbal sales script.
If you have a single step sales pipeline line regardless of it being a premium or commodity product you should opt for an image sales script.
In Corona Extra’s market research, keywords for the dream could be:
- Miles away from ordinary;
- Serenity;
- Seclusion;
- Disconnection;
- Relaxation;
- Etc.
These could then become elements for the ad:
The ad has:
- Appetising/Inspirational image;
- Have product placed;
- Logo; and
- Tag line.
It entices customer that if they want the “dream” ad depicted above in their needs above they need the product.
Same goes with before/after images.