Stop being undermined
No one questioned me.
When I worked in finance, no one questioned my accounts.
People didn’t interject with opinions about how to reconcile a ledger – I had the authority of accounting standards and regulations.
When I worked in HR, and later marketing, all kinds of people had an opinion. Usually unsolicited.
Because ‘soft skills’ professions have a barrier to entry problem.
It’s too low.
The skills required to do the job well are hidden...
Candles
When you light one candle on a birthday cake, your task is straightforward .
You have plenty of time before the match goes out and it’s easy for the recipient to blow out, too.
When you light 10 candles, things are more difficult. You have to avoid being singed by the match as well as the forest of candles.
Your recipient has more of a task, as well. Big breath to get it done.
When we share an idea, either in person or in writing, we tend to approach it like lighting 10...
Should you pay people to change behaviour?
Paying people to change behaviour doesn’t always work.
When trying to ban single use plastic bags from supermarkets, for example, a popular suggestion is to reward people for using reusable bags.
A less popular suggestion is to penalise those who don’t.
Well, here’s what behavioural research tells us.
In a study across 16,000 US shoppers, when people were paid a 5c BONUS for reusable bags, it did NOTHING to change behaviour.
When shoppers were hit with a 5c PENALTY,...
Why they're not doing what you want
When your car doesn’t start, there are a few simple things to check.
Is the battery flat?
Have you run out of fuel?
Has a connection been broken?
Running through these issues helps you narrow the problem so you can solve it.
So it is with behaviour.
If you are failing to get traction, ask yourself, is it because:
They’re not interested?
They’re confused? Or
They’re worried about proceeding?
I have a free tool to guide you through these questions, which you...
Louder doesn't help
Ever find yourself turning up the volume when watching a foreign language film?
I do, and it’s strange.
Because hearing what’s being said isn’t the problem.
Comprehension is.
Our brains get confused as to why we can’t understand something so look for the simplest explanation. We can hear words being spoken, so assume it’s a sound issue.
It’s the same with behaviour.
We jump to a conclusion that people aren't doing something because they simply...
Behavioural black box
When trying to get people to respond to you, does it sometimes feel like this?
Things get lost in translation.
The email you write doesn’t get opened.
Your website doesn’t compel them to click.
Your pitch doesn’t convert.
Something strange happens between your message and their response.
The behavioural black box.
Imagine being given the keys to the box?
Imagine seeing what’s inside.
Imagine designing work that translates to the desired...
Don't format a web link like this
Are you making a simple formatting mistake that stops people clicking?
How you format a web link in your emails needs to change according to the relationship you have with the recipient.
If they know you, it’s fine to hyperlink.
If they don’t know you, don’t hyperlink.
For example, because you know me, I can hyperlink like this.
But when I am sending information to a new client, I instead provide the web URL address like this: www.briwillia
How you...
Two types of hows
What is your customer really asking for?
Customers often use “how” questions to find you, like “how to increase sales” or “How to improve conversion?”
But not all “how” questions are alike.
In fact, there are two types of “hows”.
If you’re answering the wrong type of how, you won’t capture their attention.
The first type of “how” question is procedural.
Questions like “how...
What you can't hear
When I worked at White Pages, we'd encourage businesses to list their trading hours in the phone book so customers wouldn't have to call simply to ask "Are you open?"
Many opted not to.
They preferred being interrupted because it reassured them that people were interested.
What they couldn’t see was the time they wasted answering such calls.
What they couldn't hear were the customers who went elsewhere because they didn’t want to call.
In your role, are you...
How to cross-sell using completion bias
What does a jigsaw puzzle have to do with selling?
Researchers successfully used visual representations of a jigsaw to sell more wine and more banking products.
We can encourage customers to buy more products across our range by changing the way we visually represent them.
In this video I explain:
- How to visually represent your product suite
- What completion bias is and why it's so powerful
- How an online retailer and bank used these techniques to drive sales
...
