I mentioned recently that I didn’t think the Energizer Battery Ad was very credible. I mentioned that I thought it was a clever gambit, but it didn’t convince me their batteries were better. The fact that a bunny on TV can keep on jumping around, does not mean they are great batteries. The ads fail to give you any evidence of why the bunny is jumping around.
Here is another story that illustrates how crazy some ads are. How many of us haven’t heard the Car Dealership Ads on the radio? I remember when I was a teenager; I went to a park with the family of a friend of mine. Some car guy is on the radio pitching how cheap they sell cars. All of a sudden, my friend’s Dad says, “Why don’t they just give the cars away? Do they really think I’m that stupid?”
This Dad is a computer techie and a very frugal individual. He is the engineer type who we have to explain everything to when we list their home. It’s interesting to see the difference to how he and I perceive the radio ad. He views it as another rip off salesperson. I see it as a salesperson that has gotten carried away trying to outdo his competitors.
Here are some things Energizer could do to make their ads more believable.
1. Emphasize the time. Put a stop watch, and let us see the time progress. I know you can’t cram 30 minutes into a 30 second ad, but you can put a stopwatch. Or, fast forward the time on the screen.
2. Give us a reason why the batteries last longer. Our batteries use Nickel Cadmium (I think that is what the stuff is called that they put in batteries), and the other guys skimp and use Carbonite (I made that up.) The Nickel and the Cadmium interact to produce a powerful chemical reaction.
Here is what we can do to make ourselves more believable/credible to our customers.
1. Back up what we say with specific facts. Don’t say, “I’m the top agent.” Instead say, “In 2008, I sold more single family homes in Alachua County than any other real estate agent.” Then, show them the list of the homes you sold.
There is a guy that sold a product called Fly Cake back in the 50s and 60s. He said that he knew his product killed more flies than any other fly killer product on the market. He actually tested it head to head with the other products. But, no one believed him. What got him over the hurdle was when he hired a notary and had them notarize his claims. That one simple gesture caused his sales to take off. Hmm! Maybe I should get my List of Homes Sold notarized. Sound like an idea?
2. Don’t ever let your promises and hype go into the gray area. If someone thinks you have been dishonest with them before, it will be much harder to get them to believe anything you say in the future. We might think it is something we forgot to do, or ran out of time to do. Unfortunately, human nature causes them to think we are dishonest.
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Ben & Chris Curry The Short Sale Agent's Advocate
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