by Dr. Lynella Grant
Dropped Jaw Syndrome, Your Fastest, Most Business owners should be more like doctors. Forget selling and start asking your customers where they Don't sell, diagnose. And what are you as a doctor looking OK, it may not be in any medical book. But Dropped Jaw Joking aside, the dropped jaw, or at least its symptoms, are Diagnosing Dropped Jaw The key is finding the dropped jaw, tracking the symptoms Don’t believe me? Well, put on a white coat, hang a Now, take his temperature, make your pitch. And follow it Did his jaw drop? Hmm. You must have done something wrong. You become more attuned to the subtle dropped jaw and The true advantage of Dropped Jaw Syndrome comes from Diagnosing Your Pitch In searching for dropped-jaw reactions, some companies have Better are claims that are striking and stand out from the
Reliable Market Test
Dr. Lynella Grant
hurt. Broken leg? Ulcer? Empty wallet?
for? Well, of course: that ever-illusive, yet ever-
profitable disease called Dropped Jaw Syndrome.
Syndrome, however rare, is known to anyone who’s ever tried
to sell something. The customer walks into your store,
listens to your pitch and falls into an awestruck trance.
"I'll take three of them."
the fuel behind every sale. When a customer is persuaded to
buy, their reaction isn’t logical. You’ve connected with the
part of their brain that decides if you and your product are
believable, the limbic system. Sure, you still need to
persuade with facts, but logic is a distant second to their
desire to buy, their reflexive dropping jaw.
back to their source. But it’s there. And it’s quite easy to
find once you stop thinking about your product for a moment
and focus on the customer... I mean, patient.
stethoscope around your neck and do some market tests of
your own. But this is a test you have to do face to face.
Forget the demographic studies, sales plans and benchmark
reports, and get in front of a customer.
through the customer’s reaction.
Try again, but listen like a doctor searching for a heart
murmur. Ask a question, offer information, and then hear the
subtleties of his response. And when you’re diagnosing a
customer, instead of trying to sell your product, something
changes.
related body language. And you ask more accurate questions.
You notice which of the claims and benefits penetrate the
customer’s protective indifference, sparking real interest.
Of course, most salespeople already do this to a degree, but
it must be done intentionally, consciously.
changing your role for a moment, from selling and telling to
assessing what customers want, even when they can’t say it
in words. Demand that you live up to their desires. Because
if you’re not dropping jaws, you’re in danger of falling
behind the competition. Worse, you’re probably overlooking
your company’s uniqueness.
made unbelievable claims central to their promotions. We’ve
all seen the TV commercials where "Crazy Joe" says he’s so
insane he’s practically giving away the furniture in his
store.
competition, but don’t over-promise. Consider "Have it your
way" (Burger King) or "It takes a licking and keeps on
ticking" (Timex). In establishing your own unique
proposition, the dropped jaw test is quick and reliable.
Customers, whether they know it or not, are very good at Building Customer Confidence I discovered the Dropped Jaw Syndrome years ago. It started The value of the dropped jaw test is the perspective it As you play doctor, it’s your job to notice what hurts the About the Author
Dr. Lynella Grant is an expert on the signals that make up
distinguishing between businesses they trust and those they
don’t. Let them tell you how you’re doing.
with my claim that I can assess the health of a business by
looking only at its business card. And when I would point
out the subtle messages on their cards, most of them
unintended, people’s jaws would drop.
imparts. By listening to the customer or putting yourself in
her shoes, you’re more likely to notice the "small potatoes"
signals you’re sending. Such telltale signs aren’t based on
the business size or age. But once you recognize them they
can be easily repaired.
customer and cure it. When you find ways to make your
customers jaws drop, you’ll take their pain away. And that
will make your business a healthy one.
©2003 Lynella Grant
the body language of a business. Author of The Business
Card Book and Stop Looking Like Small Potatoes Visit
http://www.giantpotatoes.com Off the Page Press
(719) 395-9450 mailto:grant@giantpotatoes.com