Karan Chadda

Global digital marketing and communications leader

The alternative close

Ever Been fobbed off by the someone who says they’re happy to meet you but never agrees to a date and time? It happened to me all the time when I worked in recruitment. One day, when ranting again that so and so wouldn’t agree a time and date, a colleague told me about the alternative close.

The idea is simple. If you’re selling something, then there’s no reason your buyer should work to help you. Even something as simple as opening their Outlook calendar and finding an available slot or two can be too much like hard work. The alternative close helps by offering simple, binary choices.

So, the hot lead agrees to meet you. Excellent. Now, let’s get that meeting in the diary.

Me: Next week or the week after?
Hot Lead (HL): Next week

Me: Tuesday or Thursday?
HL: Thursday

Me: Morning or afternoon?
HL: Morning

Me: 10am or 11?
HL: 10am

Boom! The meeting’s been bagged by offering options so the hot lead feels like they’re in control, but there’s only ever two options and, most importantly, not meeting is never an option.

Brains vs. Brawn

A few years ago, the Welsh Rugby team were sponsored by Brains, the Welsh brewery. It was a great tie up.

Once, Wales played an away game in France, where alcohol sponsorship is banned. So they couldn’t have ‘Brains’ on their shirts.

The clever marketing people at Brains took their logo and switched it to “Brawn”. Same font, layout, etc. Everyone knew what it meant and who it represented.

Brains vs. Brawn. Clever, memorable and a good description of rugby.

This post was originally published here on Predatory Thinking.

Own the phone

I’m not ashamed to admit that in my youth I spent some time selling credit cards in a call centre – it paid some bills, the people were nice and I learnt a lot. For two consecutive summers, that unexpected call during Corrie was me. Although not the most fun job I’ve ever had, I was actually quite good at it; easily exceeding my target of three an hour, every hour, every day…

One of the reasons I was good at it was that I quickly learned how to ‘own the phone’.

Most people make a call or answer one so they can speak to people. There’s a conversation, a back and forth. It’s a sound-based medium and people expect sound. It struck me that most awkward points in a telephone conversation aren’t when both people are trying to speak, it’s when no one is.

Silence just isn’t what you expect to happen on the phone. It’s awkward, it makes people uncomfortable and they want it to end. So how did I use this little insight to my advantage?

Well, I worked out that when I asked a question and then said nothing, the silence would build pressure. The pressure would build and build. Eventually, the other person would answer. Not because they wanted to, but because they wanted the silence to end. Once they’d answered my question, I knew they’d answer all my questions, that they’d want to avoid that awkward silence.

Now, this little trick didn’t help me persuade more people to sign up for a credit card, but it did mean that people listened to me and answered my questions. They took me seriously and I didn’t waste leads.

The flipside is true too. If you ask a question and the other person doesn’t respond, the pressure builds. If you rush in with another question or clarify your original question, then you’ve lost. Deep down, they know they don’t have to answer your questions. They don’t have to talk to you. You’ve lost that call and you have wasted a lead.

Only one person can own the phone.

Securing the last glass of wine

Generally, gluttony and greed are to be frowned upon, but once in a while you just want the last glass of wine. In such situations, a little party trick I’ve developed can come in handy.

Social convention dictates that you must offer your dining companion some wine before pouring any for yourself. If you’re channeling your inner greedy glutton, this is the moment when some intelligent use of language comes in handy.

Lifting the bottle, with a friendly tone and look of sincerity you say the words:

“You don’t want the last glass of wine, do you?”

Almost without fail, your dining partner will decline.

The trick here is that you’re planting a thought – you don’t want the last glass of wine – into your friend’s mind, then following up as if it was a question.

Thus, with social convention observed, you are left to enjoy your bounty.

Thinking about light

The two photos of Alfa Romeo badges below are actually of the same badge. They were taken just moments apart. There’s no clever editing and I did nothing to block or change the light when I took the pictures. They’re just taken from different angles.

It really made me think about how to use light.

Using light is something that Paul Sanders first taught me a couple of months ago at Cuckmere Haven. I’m know that it’s something I’m going to learning more and more about for as long as I take photos. I’ll never know enough about light.

If you have any tips, please do share them.

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