There have always been stories of
people and their pets. A man and his dog. A woman and her cat. Or, it could be
the reverse, a man and his cat a woman and her dog. People have pets. The APPA
estimates that 70-80 million dogs and 74-96 million cats are owned in the
United States. I have no reason to challenge those numbers but, I question if
the pets are owned by people or the pets own their masters.
Of the millions of pets to choose
from, I select the bloodhound as my example for this article. These even tempered,
gentle, stubborn, affectionate dogs originally bred for hunting deer, wild
boar, and since the Middle Ages for tracking human beings.
Show a bloodhound a picture of an
escaped prisoner or a missing person and it means nothing to him. But give him
a piece of the man or woman’s clothing to smell and he gets the idea right
away. The dog’s best “gate of perception”—the quickest route to his
comprehension—is his nose.
People do not see the world the way
a dog does. A man or woman grasps an idea or thought most easily when they see
it. An old proverb supports this, though, “A picture is worth a thousand
words.” For people in general and customers, in particular, the eyes are the
best gate of perception. Show your client a product or a picture or illustration
of the product and they get the idea right away.
Some years back, Mobile Oil
conducted a study to determine how much we learn through each of our senses.
The results of the research show that by far the best gate of perception for a
man or woman is in sight.
• 83% through sight
• 11% through hearing
• 3.5% through smell
• 1.5% through touch
• 1% through taste
Doesn’t it make sense that if you
want to sell a product that you show the customer a sample or have them view it
in your catalog, advertising brochure or on a computer screen?
Too many salespeople attempt to
talk their way into a sale. But as the research shows, that particular
perception gate offers only an 11% opportunity of connecting. “Show” the
customer your product and you have the quickest route to their perception and a
possible sale.
I think there is an additional
advantage to showing your product. While the customer is looking at the
product, you can use your ears to listen for closing clues. I am not a math
maven but, I can add 83% (learning by sight) plus 11% (from hearing) and get a
total of 94%. Could it be that smell, touch, and taste aren't so important
after all?
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