| "HYPERBOLE IS THE BEST THING EVER!!" |
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Among all the interesting things to see at the DragonCon parade Labor Day weekend was this phrase about hyperbole on a t-shirt.
It may be amusing on a t-shirt, but hyperbole in marketing is a trap. When you're very close to your subject--excited about your offering and wanting to share your passion--it's easy to fall into exaggerations that undermine your credibility. You don't even realize you've done it, but your prospects notice.
Where you see a statement of confidence in your offering's strengths, your prospect sees a vague and unquantifiable boast that gets her no closer to understanding what you're actually going to do for her.
Resist the temptation is to use phrases that cross that line between confidence and boasting:
"leading solution provider"
"superior"
"drive maximum results"
"best-of-breed"
"world class"
Unrealistic claims--especially when couched in abstract, non-specific terms like the ones above--not only make you seem less trustworthy. They make you blend in with every other company that's using these exact same claims.
If your claims are realistic, you're better off showing quantifiable results-a mini case study or testimonial citing a specific achievement-and letting your reader determine for herself that your offering really is the best choice. |
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SALES, MARKETING & THE JEDI MIND TRICK
You've probably had the experience of making a sales presentation and feeling like the force just wasn't with you. Or you've worked and worked on a brochure and doubted it would ever help sway your customer away from the dark side.
The next time you need to use language to persuade, try this mind trick to insert your idea into your prospect's mind: use a metaphor.
What's a metaphor? It's what I used to start this article.
I could have titled the article, "Using Metaphorical Language to Persuade." This abstraction is the opposite of a metaphor. There's nothing concrete in it to anchor the idea in your reader's mind. It just rushes through the brain like a train speeding thru a station without stopping.
More examples of metaphors: In the previous paragraph the phrase "anchor in the reader's mind" is a metaphor. So is the last sentence, which connects the idea of abstraction with a train speeding through the brain without stopping.
Metaphors compare one thing to another. They allow you to tie abstractions to the concrete world so they can be understood more easily. They allow you to paint positive pictures in your prospect's mind.
Using metaphors, you can trigger relevant memories that actively involve your prospect in your presentation or marketing piece.
Check out Metaphorically Selling by Anne Miller for more details on using metaphor mind tricks.
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