The Question that Gets Prospects to Act

The payoff to delivering the right message

Human nature being what it is, many of us extrapolate our way of thinking to the people we’re talking to – so if we’re promotion-oriented and respond to gains, we emphasize those messages when talking to other people. Similarly, if we have a more conservative, protection-oriented mindset, then we talk about how a course of action will minimize risk and downside.

But what if we adapt our conversation to the psyche of the person with whom we are talking? Halvorson described a series of experiments to measure the impact of delivering messages that were aligned with the orientation of the audience. For example, a group of Columbia undergraduate students were each given $5 and then asked how much of that $5 they would pay to purchase a mug with the Columbia crest. As part of the experiment, different participants received different messages:

• Some received a promotion-oriented message, focusing on what they would gain by purchasing the mug.
• Others received a protection-oriented message, outlining what they would lose if they didn’t buy the mug.

In the last step, a questionnaire was used to determine if the students were promotion- or protection-minded. The price they were willing to pay for the mug was analyzed based on whether the message they received fit with their orientation. Students were willing to pay $4.72 for the mug if they received a message that fit their mindset and just $2.80 if the message didn’t fit – a 68% difference. The gap was especially pronounced for the conservative, protection-oriented students who got a message about the upside of buying the mug.

Source: Focus – Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence

These findings have been replicated in other experiments, where consumers were willing to pay 20% to 40% more for products when the message they received fit with their mindset. These two mindsets differ in other ways as well – for example, promotion personalities respond to goals, while the protection mindset responds to duties and obligations. In Halvorson’s recent book, she describes an experiment with semi-professional soccer players in a regional league of the German soccer association:

The benefits of aligning the message with your audience’s mindset don’t end with the higher probability of a sale and the prospect’s potential willingness to pay a higher price. Subsequent satisfaction with the product also increases. A study focused on purchasers of computers and electric grills showed that purchasors who chose products where the message fit their mindset “felt right” and were significantly more satisfied with their purchase decision.

Halvorson emphasized that adapting your message to the audience isn’t a manipulative technique that exaggerates the benefits of the product being sold. Rather, aligning the message about the product or service being sold changes how people experience it and creates a real increase in value.

Three steps to make this happen

The final chapter of Halvorson’s book outlines three steps to creating motivational fit.

1. Identify the mindset of your audience.

   Sometimes, you can judge the mindset of the people you’re talking to by their demeanors, career choices or spending and saving patterns. Another way is to ask the question that began this article: “What decision that you made in the past year do you regret the most today?”If you’re talking to someone who is promotion-oriented, the answer will tend to focus on missed opportunities and chances not taken. If the person you’re meeting has a protectionmindset, the answers will focus on bad decisions and mistakes that could have been avoided.

2. Deliver a message that fits your audience’s mindset.

   In her talk, Halvorson discussed how to tailor messages to different audiences. Here are some examples;

   Talking to prospects:

   • Promotion-oriented: “Here are the benefits and upsides if you decide to engage us to create a financial plan.”
   • Protection-oriented: “Here are the risks and downsides if you fail to act and don’t put a financial plan in place.”

   Talking to clients who are invested in bonds:

   • Promotion-oriented: “Here are the benefits and advantages if we allocate some of your bonds to stocks.”
   • Protection-oriented: “Here are the potential risks and costs if we don’t move some of your bond holdings to stocks.”

   Motivating team members:

   • Promotion-oriented: “Everyone who hits their targets gets a trip to the Bahamas..”
   • Protection-oriented: “Everyone goes on a trip to the Bahamas, except those who don’t meet their targets.”

   Motivating teenage children:

   • Promotion-oriented: “Clean your room and you can go out tonight.”
   • Protection-oriented: “You can go out tonight as long as you clean your room.’

3. Deliver your message in a way that’s aligned with each group.

   Once you’ve identified the right message, the final step is to align your examples and choice of words to your audience.

   • Appeal to emotion versus reason

     In her talk, Halvorson described how the classic 1960s television series Star Trek featured two contrasting personalities – William Shatner as Captain James Kirk, who made decisions based on his gut, and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, who was ruled by reason. Promotion-oriented personalities tend to be like Kirk and respond to emotional messages focusing on how they’ll feel. Protection-oriented people like Spock  make decision based on facts, figures and reason.

   • Why versus how

     Promotion-oriented personalities respond to big picture conversations about the “why” behind your recommendations. Protection-oriented people tend to be more concrete and want details of how something will work.

   • Leading edge versus proven

     Promotion-oriented people respond to descriptions such as new, innovative and leading-edge. That’s the exact opposite of protection-oriented purchasers, who want things that are safe, secure  and tested.

   • Best case versus worst case

     Promotion-oriented buyers like to hear about the upside and potential of the recommendations you’re making. Protection-oriented purchasers want to hear about the worst case and downside.

   • Multiple alternatives versus one alternative

     Promotion-oriented purchasers are often happy to hear about two or three alternatives with a discussion of the pros and cons of each. Protection-oriented purchasers prefer one carefully researched and thoroughly discussed alternative – the more alternatives, the more scope to go wrong.

   • Adjust your pace

     Promotion-oriented buyers make decisions at a faster pace than protection-oriented personalities. Always ensure that prospects don’t feel rushed, but this is especially the case with protection-oriented personalities, who need to take their time in making a decision.

While the focus of this article has been on interacting with prospects, these principles apply equally to talking with members of your team and to conversations with existing clients about staying invested, repositioning portfolios or moving money off the sidelines. By taking the time to adapt your message to your audience, you’ll be more effective and have happier staff and clients.

You can read more about Heidi Grant Halvorson’s research in this article from the Harvard Business Review website, How to Get Customers to Value Your Product More.

Dan Richards conducts programs to help advisors gain and retain clients and is an award winning faculty member in the MBA program at the University of Toronto. To see more of his written commentaries, go to www.danrichards.com or here for his videos.

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