Interaction - Your Prospects Buy In by Partcipating--Not by Just "Listening" to Your Pitch.
Here's How to Get Them Engaged.

Article Date: July 24, 2006

We all know how popular Oprah Winfrey is, and that she is one of the wealthiest people in the United States with a net worth in excess of $1 billion.  Did you also know that she has been voted one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century?  And that some universities offer courses that concentrate on analyzing the "Oprah phenomenon"?

So what's up with Oprah, and what can we learn from her communications skills that we can apply, this week, to increase production?  There is a lot going on here, but one very powerful element emerges that we can all key in on.  That is Oprah's use of audience interaction.  Here's how it works.

When Oprah presents a show on, say, the dangers of teenage drug abuse...  she doesn't just lecture the audience or roll out an expert for a two-way dialogue.  She "engages" the people in the audience, and they stand up and tell their stories--often with wrenching detail.  Soon other people join in, "testifying" about their own experiences.  The result is not so much a talk show as a "revival," with people at home being irresistibly drawn into the emotionally charged atmosphere.

Once Oprah stirs everyone up, all she has to do is orchestrate the proceedings and modulate the emotional pitch.  And she is the master of occasionally looking straight into the camera so that you feel as if she is talking to you, personally.  The key?

Oprah knows what all great entertainers and superior teachers know... people don't just want to be part of "the audience." They want to be part of "the show."  Part of the experience, the spectacle.  She creates the ultimate bonding experience, the objective of anyone who communicates for a living.

Check out your present pitch.  Is it interactive?  Does it invite the prospect to become emotionally involved... to "testify" about his goals and objectives and, more importantly, his "feelings" about the transaction?  That is what great presentations do--in politics, in entertainment and, yes, in business.

A great way to engage a prospect is by using the "best of all worlds" probe:  "Mr. Client, in the best of all worlds, when would you like to move and what would be the absolute best location for you?"

The "best of all worlds" question triggers the prospect's imagination, induces positive images and allows him to picture himself after the sale.  It also invites him to become "part of the show," instead of simply listening and reacting!

Oprah didn't make a billion dollars from scratch just by being "touchy feely."  There is a finely tuned communications machine behind her program, with people who know exactly what buttons to push and how to push them.  We can learn a lot from their ability to make their buyers the stars of the show!

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